As a noun, the knee is the joint in the middle of your leg that lets it bend. As a verb, to knee someone means to hit them with your knee.
From Old English “cnēo”, related to German “Knie” and Latin “genu”, all meaning “knee”. It is a very old word shared across many Indo-European languages.
The knee takes huge forces every time you jump, run, or even walk downstairs, which is why it’s both powerful and injury-prone. Its design is a compromise between strength and flexibility. When your knees hurt, you’re feeling the cost of that compromise.
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