To drop down so that your knees touch the ground, often as a sign of respect, prayer, or submission.
From Old English 'cnēowlian' (to kneel), related to 'cneow' (knee), ultimately from Proto-Germanic and Indo-European roots connected to the joint or bending part of the leg.
The word 'kneel' comes directly from the body part 'knee,' but you rarely hear it put together that way—it's a linguistic leftover showing how verbs were once just nouns describing what body parts *did*!
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