Forms: α. 1–3 cneow, cnew, (1 cneu, kneu), 3 cno(u)w, (Orm.) cnewwe, 4 know(e, knew; pl. 1 cneow, -u, -a; 3 -en; 2–4 -es. β. 1–3 cneo, 3 cne, 3–5 kneo, 3–6 kne, 5– knee; pl. 1 cneo; 1–5 -en, -n; 3– -s. [Com. Teut.: OE. cnéow, cnéo neut., = OFris. kniu, kni, knē, OS. knio, kneo (Du. knie fem.), OHG. chniu, kneo (MHG. kniu, knie, Ger. knie), ON. knē (Sw. knä, Dan. knæ), Goth. kniu, gen. kniwis:—OTeut. *knewom = pre-Teut. *gneuo-: cf. L. genu, Gr. γόνυ, Skr. jānu knee; also Goth. knu-ssjan to kneel, Gr. γνύξ with bent knee, Skr. abhi-jnu to the knee. These forms point to an orig. ablaut stem geneu-, goneu-, gneu-, liable to shortening of the second syllable.]
I. The part of the limb, etc.
1. The joint, or region about the joint, between the thigh and the lower leg; by extension, the part of the thigh of a sitting person over the knee.
α. c. 825. Vesp. Psalter cviii. 24. Cneow min ʓeuntrumad sind fore festenne.
971. Blickl. Hom., 43. Hine besencton … æt his cneowa.
c. 1000. Ags. Ps. (Th.), cviii. 24. Me synt cneowu swylce cwicu unhale.
c. 1000. Sax. Leechd., I. 186. Beþe þonne þa fet & þa cnewu.
c. 1200. Vices & Virtues, 51. He ðat alle cnewes to cnelið.
c. 1290. St. Michael, 725, in S. Eng. Leg., I. 320. Þe kneuwene in eiþur eiȝe.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. V. 359. Clement the cobelere … leyde hym on his knowes.
β. a. 1000. Phoenix, 514. Þonne anwald eal … ban ʓegædrað … fore cristes cneo.
c. 1200. Ormin, 4775. Cnes, & fet, & shannkess.
c. 1275. XI Pains Hell, 96, in O. E. Misc., 149. Þat stondeþ vp to heore kneow.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 12685. Hes knes war bolnd sua þat he ne moght vnnethes ga.
c. 1400. Trevisa’s Higden (Rolls), V. 461. He wolde … lenye on his kneon [v.r. knees].
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, I. 323. On kneis he faucht.
a. 1500[?]. Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.), 403. Hym honour we and all men, devoutly kneling on our knen.
1597. Shaks., 2 Hen. IV., II. iv. 247. Sit on my knee, Dol.
1711–2. Swift, Lett. (1767), III. 291. The queen has the gout in her knee.
1800. Wordsw., Pet Lamb, 7. With one knee on the grass did the little maiden kneel.
a. 1835. Mrs. Hemans, Graves of a Househ., vii. Whose voices mingled as they prayed, Around one parent knee.
1841. H. Smith, Addr. Mummy, xi. Have children climbed those knees and kissed that face?
1858. Gen. P. Thompson, Audi Alt. (1859), II. lxxix. 36. One of the earliest stories learned at a mother’s knee.
2. In various phrases: a. Knee by knee, side by side and close together; knee to knee, = prec.; also, facing each other with the knees touching. b. To offer or give a knee, to act as second in a pugilistic encounter, it being customary for a second to give a principal the support of his knee between the rounds. c. On the knees of the gods (Gr. θεῶν ἐν γούνασι, Hom.), dependent on superhuman disposal, beyond human control.
a. 1759. Cooper, in Phil. Trans., LI. 39. Another old woman sitting knee to knee with her companion.
1798. Coleridge, Anc. Mar., V. xii. The body of my brother’s son Stood by me, knee to knee.
1842. Tennyson, Vision of Sin, 84. Sit thee down,… Cheek by jowl, and knee by knee.
1899. Daily News, 27 June, 5/7. Men were wedged tightly knee-to-knee as they rode at a gallop.
b. 1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, v. Every body was anxious to have the honour of offering the conqueror a knee.
1857. Hughes, Tom Brown, II. v. Tom … with Martin to give him a knee, steps out on the turf.
c. 1879. Butcher & Lang, Odyssey, I. 9. Howbeit these things surely lie on the knees of the gods, whether he shall return or not.
1900. Daily News, 17 Aug., 6/5. Such things are yet upon the knees of the gods.
3. esp. In phrases having reference to kneeling or bowing in worship, supplication or submission.
a. With governing prep.: On or upon the (one’s) knee(s; to fall, go, kneel, † lie, † set oneself, † sit down on one’s knees († on knee(s), to bring one to his knees; see also AKNEE, FALL v. 20. b. With governing vb.: To bend, bow, drop, † fold, put the (one’s) knee; see also BOW v.1 9 c, BENDED. c. As the part of the limb used in kneeling or bowing; to owe a knee, to owe reverence or adoration; † with cap and knee: see CAP sb.1 4 g.
a. c. 893. K. Ælfred, Oros., III. ix. § 14. Þeh þe hie hiene meðiʓne on cneowum sittende metten.
a. 1000. Elene, 1136 (Gr.). Cwene willa heo on cneow sette.
c. 1200. Ormin, 6627. Buȝhenn himm o cnewwe. Ibid., 6467. Þeȝȝ … fellenn dun o cnewwess.
c. 1205. Lay., 12685. Ȝe bidden for me on eower bare cneowen. Ibid., 12941. He … feol on his cneowen.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 1017. Doun on knees wente every maner wight.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 286. Sche began merci to crie, Upon hire bare knes.
a. 1548. Hall, Chron. Hen. V., 50. On theyr knes desired to have theyr lives saved.
1717. Lady M. W. Montagu, Lett. to C’tess Bristol, 1 April. A minister of state is not spoken to, but upon the knee.
1800. I. Milner, in Life, xii. (1842), 204. In a very short time you may be on your knees to this very B[uonaparte].
1855. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xx. IV. 402. The Marshal reasoned: he implored: he went on his knees.
1887. Times (weekly ed.), 4 Nov., 10/3. A very efficacious method of bringing a … troublesome class of offenders to their knees.
b. c. 950. Lindisf. Gosp., Matt. xxvii. 29. Cnew [c. 975 Rushw. Gosp. kneu] ʓebeʓed bifora him.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., ibid. Biʓdon heora cneow beforan him.
a. 1240. Ureisun, in Cott. Hom., 191. To þe ich buwe and mine kneon ich beie.
1382. Wyclif, Acts xx. 36. His knees putt, he preide with alle hem.
1567. Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.), 51. The kneis of my hart sall I bow.
1580. Sidney, Ps. V. iii. I … in Thy feare, knees of my heart will fold.
1593. Shaks., Rich. II., IV. i. 165. I hardly yet haue learn’d To insinuate, flatter, bowe, and bend my Knee.
1611. Bible, Prayer Manasses. I bow the knee of mine heart, beseeching thee of grace.
1667. Milton, P. L., V. 788. Will ye submit your necks, and chuse to bend The supple knee?
1715. R. Nelson, trans. A Kempis’ Chr. Exerc., III. vi. 116. When with knees bended, thou entreatest for the Pardon of thy Sins.
1857. Keble, Euchar. Ador., 3. If we kneel and bow the knees of our hearts to receive a blessing.
c. 1513. More, in Grafton, Chron. (1568), II. 761. I would never have wonne the curtesie of so many mens knees with the losse of so many mens hands.
1596. Shaks., 1 Hen. IV., IV. iii. 68. The more and lesse came in with Cap and Knee. Ibid. (1607), Cor., V. iii. 57. What ’s this? your knees to me? To your corrected son?
1640. Bp. Reynolds, Passions, xiii. I cannot but think that … the reed and knees of those mocking and blasphemous Jews were so many drops of that full cup.
a. 1699. Kirkton, Hist. Ch. Scot. (1817), 210 (E. D. D.). When they came to town they were so attended with salutations, caps, and knees.
4. A joint in an animal likened to, or regarded as corresponding in position or shape to, the human knee. a. The carpal articulation of the foreleg of the horse, cow, cat, or other quadruped. b. The tarsal articulation or heel of a bird. c. The joint of an insect’s leg between the femur and the tibia.
c. 1450. Two Cookery-bks., 116. Lete a fesaunt blode in the mouth … & kutt a-wey … the legges by the kne.
1486. Bk. St. Albans, B j. The federis that bene at the Ioynte: at the hawkes kne thay stonde hangyng.
1626. Bacon, Sylva, § 45. A pottage of strong nourishment … made with the knees and sinews of beef, but long boiled.
1753. Chambers, Cycl. Supp., Knee in the Manege, is the joint of the fore quarters, that joins the fore thigh to the shank.
1831. Youatt, Horse (1848), 339. In examining a horse for purchase the knees should be very strictly scrutinised.
1858. Fred. Smith, Catal. Brit. Foss. Hymenopt., 111. Didineis lunicornis … Female … the legs simple, with the knees of the anterior femora … of a testaceous yellow.
1893. Newton, Dict. Birds, 498. Knee, a term commonly misapplied by many ornithological writers to the intertarsal (often called tibio-tarsal) joint.
5. The part of a garment covering the knee.
1562. Pepys, Diary, 12 June. I tried on my riding-cloth suit with close knees … I think they will be very convenient, if not too hot to wear any other open knees after them.
1844. J. T. Hewlett, Parsons & W., x. His coat and waistcoat off, and his knees unbuttoned.
1887. Miss Braddon, Like & Unlike, I. iv. 107. There is always a new man coming to the front, with advanced theories upon the cutting of the knee.
1896. Mrs. Caffyn, Quaker Grandmother, 30. The very knees of your flannels won’t flop and bag.
II. Something resembling the knee in position or shape.
6. a. Part of a hill, tree, etc., regarded as corresponding to the knee.
c. 1586. C’tess Pembroke, Ps. LXXII. vii. The woods, where enterlaced trees … Joyne at the head, though distant at the knees.
c. 1640. J. Smyth, Hundred of Berkeley (1885), 4. The sydes, knees, and feete of those hills.
1842. Tennyson, Talking Oak, 29. Hail, hidden to the knees in fern, Broad Oak of Sumner-chace!
b. A natural prominence, as a rock or crag. rare.
1590. Spenser, F. Q., I. ix. 34. All about old stockes and stubs of trees … Did hang upon the ragged rocky knees.
7. A piece of timber having a natural angular bend, or artificially so bent; also a piece of metal of the same shape. a. Shipbuilding and Naut. A piece of timber naturally bent, used to secure parts of a ship together, esp. one with an angular bend used to connect the beams and the timbers; by extension, a bent piece of iron serving the same purpose; † formerly applied to any naturally grown bent timber used in shipbuilding. Knee of the head, a cutwater: cf. HEAD 21.
Hence CARLINE-, CHEEK-, DAGGER-, HEAD-, HEEL-, STANDARD-, STERNPOST-KNEE: q.v.
1352. Excheq. Acc. Q. R. (Bundle 20. No. 27. P. R. O.), Pro iij. lignis maer[emii] curvis vocatis ‘knowes’ sic emptis et positis in nave predicta.
1497. Naval Acc. Hen. VII. (1896), 293. Boltes of yron for Knees in the seid Ship.
1600. Hakluyt, Voy., III. 864. Carpenters to set knees into her, and any other tymbers appertaining to the strengthening of a shippe.
1626. Capt. Smith, Accid. Yng. Sea-men, 9. All the beames to be bound with two knees at each ende.
1706. Phillips, s.v., The Cut-water of a Ship is also called the Knee of the Head.
1769. Falconer, Dict. Marine (1789), Knees are either said to be lodging or hanging. The former are fixed horizontally…. The latter are fixed vertically.
1878. A. H. Markham, Gt. Frozen Sea, i. 3. Extra iron knees were introduced in order more effectually to resist the enormous pressure of the ice.
b. Carpentry and Mech. A piece of timber or metal naturally or artificially shaped, so as to fit into an angle; also, the bend in such a piece, or one made by the junction of any two pieces.
1677–83. Moxon, Mech. Exerc. (1703), 142. Knees of the principal Rafters, to be made all of one piece with the principal Rafters. Ibid., 162. Knee, a piece of Timber growing angularly, or crooked.
1703. T. N., City & C. Purchaser, 146. When Rafters are cut with a Knee, these Furrings are pieces that go straight along with the Rafter from the top of the Knee to the Cornish.
1825. J. Nicholson, Operat. Mechanic, 103. Two knees of cast-iron, to support the posts that the gates are fixed to.
c. spec. (a) An elbow-piece connecting parts in which the side plates are let into the pieces of timber and bolted thereto. (b) ‘A piece framed into and connecting the bench and runner of sled or sleigh.’ (c) ‘An elbow or toggle-joint’ (Knight, Dict. Mech., 1875).
8. Arch. (See quots.)
1823. P. Nicholson, Pract. Build., 201. A Knee, in a dog-legged and open-newelled stair-case, is the lower end of a hand-rail.
1842–76. Gwilt, Archit. (ed. 7), Gloss, Knee, a part of the back of a handrailing, of a convex form, being the reverse of a ramp, which … is concave.
1850. Parker, Gloss. Archit., Knee,… the projectura or projection of the architrave mouldings, at the ends of the lintel in the dressings of a door or window of classical architecture.
9. Bot. † a. An articulation or joint; esp. a bent joint in some grasses (cf. KNEED 1 b, knee-sick). Obs. b. A spur-like process on the roots of the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and tupelo (Nyssa), rising above the water in which the tree grows: cf. cypress-knee (CYPRESS 4).
[1597. Gerarde, Herbal, I. xii. 14. Kneed grasse … is so called, bicause it hath ioints like as it were knees.]
1678. Phillips (ed. 4), Knees, in the Art Botanick, are those Partitions, which in some Kinds of Plants are like Knees or Joynts.
1878. Folk-Lore Rec., I. 221 (E.D.D.). Find a straw with nine knees.
1889. Science (U.S.), XIII. 176/2. Inquiries concerning the knees of the swamp cypress … led me to the supposition that these peculiar processes from the roots served in some manner to aerate the sap. Ibid., 177/1. At this stage … if the crown be permanently wet, the knees [of Nyssa uniflora] become an extremely conspicuous feature.
10. Anat. (See quots.)
1840. G. V. Ellis, Anat., 33. [In the brain] The part of the corpus callosum that bends is called the knee, and the prolonged portion the beak.
1881. Syd. Soc. Lex., Beak of corpus callosum, the recurved anterior termination of the corpus callosum of the brain beyond what is called the knee.
† II. fig. A degree of descent in a genealogy.
c. 1000. Laws of Ethelred, VI. c. 12, in Schmid, Gesetze. Ne ʓeweorðe, þæt cristen man ʓewifiʓe in vi. manna sib-fæce, on his aʓenum cynne, þæt is binnan feorðan cneowe.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 444. Lamech is at ðe sexte kne, ðe seuende man after adam.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 4691. Yde,… com of woden þe olde louerd, as in þe teþe kne.
c. 1340. Cursor M., 9260 (Trin.). Who so wol se fro adam þe olde How mony knees to crist are tolde.
III. attrib. and Comb.
12. General Comb., as knee-apron, -band, -bath, -bolt, -buckle, -cords, -end, -giver, -height, -labo(u)r, -line, -muscle, -shorts, -smalls, -splint, -sprain, † -stead, -tribute, -trick, -ward, -way, -worship; knee-crooking, -high, -propt, -shaped, -worn adjs.
1885. Daily News, 22 Jan., 3/3. The prisoner was further charged with stealing a *knee apron and cape, belonging to Robert Ingram, the driver of the cab.
1822–34. Good’s Study Med. (ed. 4), I. 330. A narrow tub for a *knee-bath, just wide enough to hold the feet and reach the knees.
1874. Thearle, Naval Archit., 36. The whole of the fastenings of the shell, including the *knee bolts.
1772. Henley, in Phil. Trans., LXII. 135. His stock, shoe, and *knee-buckles,… were all uninjured.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., xiv. It had long been his ambition to stand in a bar of his own, in a green coat, *knee-cords, and tops.
1604. Shaks., Oth., I. i. 45. A dutious and *knee-crooking knaue.
1869. Sir E. J. Reed, Shipbuild., xv. 286. The *knee-ends of the girder are connected with the bulkheads by double vertical angle-irons.
1834. H. Miller, Scenes & Leg., xxiii. (1857), 334. The white table … raised *knee-height over the floor.
1843. Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc., IV. II. 309. Heath growing *knee high.
1640. Brome, Antipodes, V. vi. Wks. 1873, III. 330. She kneeles. Let. Tis but so much *knee-labour lost.
1798. Sotheby, trans. Wieland’s Oberon (1826), II. 124. Rests on her *knee-propt arm her drooping head.
1847–9. Todd, Cycl. Anat., IV. 545/2. The same *knee-shaped bend.
1844. Dickens, Mart. Chuz., xxvi. A flannel jacket, and corduroy *knee-shorts. Ibid. (1838), Nich. Nick., xxiii. Played some part in blue silk *knee-smalls.
1591. Greene, Farew. Folly, Wks. 1881–3, IX. 294. Sugar candie she is,… fro the wast to the *kneestead.
1667. Milton, P. L., V. 782. Coming to receive from us *Knee-tribute yet unpaid, prostration vile.
1575. Turberv., Faulconrie, 349. Knit it on the side towards the leg to the *kneeward.
1900. Westm. Gaz., 18 Sept., 10/1. There are umbrella-stands at the ends of the seats, and plenty of *knee-way is given.
1832. [R. Cattermole], Becket, etc. 8. My prayers rose from no *knee-worn cell.
1630. Sanderson, Serm., II. 262. The *knee-worship, and the cap-worship, and the lip-worship they may have that are in worshipful places and callings.
13. Special Combs.: knee apparatus, surgical apparatus for fracture, etc., of the knee; knee-ball: see quot.; knee-bent, -bowed adjs., of grasses and straws, bent or bowed at the knees or joints (see 9 a); † knee-board, the part of the leg at the back of the knee, the back of the thigh or hough; knee-bone, the patella, knee-cap; knee-boot, (a) a boot reaching to the knee; (b) a leathern apron to draw over the knees in a carriage; knee-boss, a piece of armor used in the Middle Ages to protect the knee, consisting of a cap of leather or other material; knee-breeches (Sc. -breeks), breeches reaching down to, or just below, the knee (hence knee-breeched a., wearing knee-breeches); knee-brush, (a) a tuft of long hair, immediately below the carpal joint, on the legs of some antelopes; (b) a hairy mass covering the legs of bees, on which they carry pollen (cf. BRUSH sb.2 4); knee-drill, kneeling to order for prayers: a term of the Salvation Army; knee-elbow position, ‘the prone position of the body when supported on a bed or couch by the knees and the elbows, so that the face is lower than the pelvis, and the abdominal muscles become relaxed’ (Syd. Soc. Lex., 1888); † knee-evil = knee-ill; knee-fringe, a fringe on the bottom of knee-breeches; † knee-grass: see KNEED 1 b; knee-guard, a genouillère; knee-hul(l, † -hulver = KNEE-HOLLY; knee-ill, -iron, jerk: see quots.; knee-jump, -kick = knee-jerk; knee-knaps, ‘leathers worn over the knees by thatchers’ (Barnes, Gloss. Dorset, 1864); knee-piece, (a) a bent piece of timber used in shipbuilding: = sense 7 a; (b) = knee-rafter; (c) a genouillère; knee-pine, a dwarf variety of the European mountain pine; knee-plate, a broad steel plate worn from the 15th to the 17th c. as a protection for the thigh; knee-process = 9 b; knee-punch: see quot.; knee-rafter, a rafter the lower end of which is bent downwards; knee-reflex = knee-jerk; knee-roof = CURB-ROOF; † kneeshive [Ger. kniescheibe, Du. knieschijf], the knee-cap; knee-sick a.: see quot.; knee-stop = knee-swell; knee-strap, (a) the strap used by a shoemaker to keep a boot in position on his knee; (b) U.S. ‘in a railroad-car, a wrought-iron facing to a knee-timber, connecting the end-sill and the stirrup or drawbar carry-iron’ (Cent. Dict., 1890); knee-strings, strings worn round the knee at the bottom of knee-breeches; knee-swell, in the harmonium and American organ, a lever operated by the performer’s knee for producing crescendo and diminuendo effects; knee-table, a knee-hole table; † knee-ties = knee-strings. Also KNEE-CAP, -DEEP, -HALTER, etc., q.v.
1826. Kirby & Sp., Entomol., III. 385. Molula (the *Knee-ball), the convex and sometimes bent head of the Tibia, armed with a horny process on each side, by which it is attached to the thigh.
1776–96. Withering, Brit. Plants (ed. 3), II. 119. Straw not only ascending, but *knee-bent.
1886. Elworthy, W. Somerset Word-bk., *Knee-bowed, said of corn after much rain.
c. 1425. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 637/13. Hec fragus, *kneborde.
c. 1410. Chron. Eng., 758. Hys legges hy corven of anon, Faste by the *kneo-bon.
1898. Westm. Gaz., 21 July, 7/1. [He] stated that successful cases of the binding of the knee-bone had been known after a fortnight’s delay.
1794. W. Felton, Carriages (1801), I. 205. At the top of some *knee-boots, an iron-jointed rod is sewed in the leather, which fixes in spring sockets on the elbow-rail.
1892. Gentlewomen’s Bk. Sports, I. 97. I wear … a waterproof skirt, and india-rubber knee-boots.
1826. J. Wilson, Noct. Ambr., Wks. 1855, II. 275. There he is,—wi’ his … licht casimer *knee-breeks wi’ lang ties.
1833. Ht. Martineau, Loom & Lugger, I. i. 4. It is so odd to see such a little fellow with knee-breeches.
1860. Fairholt, Costume Eng., Gloss. (ed. 2), 400. The plain tight knee-breeches, still worn as court-dress.
1884. H. C. Bunner, in Harper’s Mag., Jan., 303/1. The Staten Island Athletic Club, with some two hundred and fifty apostles of the *knee-breeched cultus.
1833. Penny Cycl., II. 75/2. Another [species of antelope] differs from the general type in the possession of *knee-brushes.
1882. Besant, All Sorts, xii. The brave [Salvation Army] warriors were now in full blast, and the fighting, *‘knee-drill,’ singing … were at their highest.
1898. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., V. 768. If the patient … assume the *knee-elbow position for a short time, the dulness disappears.
1827. Sporting Mag., XX. 73. F. Bacon … called it the *knee evil, and seemed to consider it as a new complaint among race-horses.
1674. Dryden, Prol. open. New House, 27. The dangling *knee-fringe and the bib-cravat.
1706. Phillips, *Knee-grass, a sort of Herb.
1869. Boutell, Arms & Arm., vii. (1874), 113. These secondary defences were entitled coudières and genouillières, elbow-guards, that is, and *knee-guards.
1894. H. Speight, Nidderdale, 208. Upon the knee-guards are depicted small raised shields.
1808–18. Jamieson, *Knee-ill, a disease of cattle, affecting their joints.
1884. Knight, Dict. Mech., Suppl., *Knee-iron, an angle-iron at the junction of timbers in a frame.
1876. Foster, Phys. (1888), 913. Striking the tendon below the patella gives rise to a sudden extension of the leg, known as the *knee-jerk.
1897. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., II. 367. The physiological deep reflex called the ‘knee-jerk’ or ‘patellar reflex.’
1898. J. Hutchinson, Archives Surg., IX. 135. His *Knee-jump was poor.
1889. T. Hardy, Mayor Casterbr., xliii. Fresh leggings, *knee-naps, and corduroys.
1666. Lond. Gaz., No. 68/1. One [Fly-boat] of 300 Tuns, with … Deal, *Knee-pieces, and other Oak timber for ships.
1677–83. [see knee-rafter].
1869. Boutell, Arms & Arm., x. (1874), 190. The pouleyns, genouillières, or knee-pieces became general before the close of the 13th century.
1884. Miller, Plant-n., 231. Pinus Mugho var. nana, *Knee Pine.
1889. Science (U.S.), XIII. 176/2. The trees [swamp cypresses] which grew upon high ground failed to develop any *knee processes.
1884. F. J. Britten, Watch & Clockm., 135. *Knee Punch, a cranked punch for removing plugs from cylinders.
1677–83. Moxon, Mech. Exerc. (1703), 162. A piece of Timber growing angularly, or crooked … being made out of one piece of stuff; It is called a Knee-piece, or *Knee-rafter.
1845. Parker, Gloss. Archit., Knee-rafter, a rafter in the principal truss of a roof.
1888. Syd. Soc. Lex., *Knee reflex. Same as knee-jerk.
1898. J. Hutchinson, Archives Surg., IX. 336. His knee-reflexes were good.
1599. A. M., trans. Gabelhouer’s Bk. Physicke, 224/1. Heerwith must the Woman annoyncte herselfe in and rownde about her Navle, and *kneeshive.
1794. T. Davis, Agric. Wilts, in Archæol. Rev. (1888), March, 36. Knee-sick—Wheat is *knee-sick [when] weak in the stalk and dropping on the first joint.
1876. Stainer & Barrett, Dict. Mus. Terms, *Knee Stop, a mechanical contrivance on harmoniums, by which certain shutters are made to open gradually when the knees are pressed against levers.
1897. Mus. Times, 1 Jan., 57/1. American organ … 11 stops, including two knee-stops.
1812. Sporting Mag., XL. 14/2. Had I not, by a significant dangle of my *knee-strap, given her a signal to withdraw.
a. 1892. Walt Whitman, To Working Men, 6. The awl and knee-strap.
1712. Addison, Spect., No. 317, ¶ 4. Tied my *Knee-strings, and washed my Hands.
1768–74. Tucker, Lt. Nat. (1834), I. 67. When we set ourselves to think intensely, few of us leave our limbs entirely at rest;… some play with their buttons, some twist their knee-strings.
1852. R. S. Surtees, Sponge’s Sp. Tour (1893), 286. The knee-strings were generally also loose.
1882. Ogilvie, *Knee-swell.
1890. Eng. Illustr. Mag., Christm. No. 157. He … took a seat at the *knee table.
1825. H. T. B., in Hone, Every-day Bk., I. 563/1. *Knee-ties depending half-way down to the ancles.
