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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To bend the knee or touch one knee to the floor or ground, as in worship.
  2. v. To be servilely respectful or deferential; grovel.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To bend the knee, as in an act of worship or of respect; perform genuflection.

Wiktionary

  1. v. To bend the knee, as in servitude or worship
  2. v. To behave in a servile manner; to grovel.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To bend the knee, as in worship.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. bend the knees and bow in church or before a religious superior or image
  2. v. bend the knees and bow in a servile manner

Etymologies

  1. Late Latin genūflectere : Latin genū, knee; see genu-1 in Indo-European roots + Latin flectere, to bend.

Examples

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Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘genuflect’.

Comments

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  • dbekeny LION
    (sings)
    And the sparrow would take wing
    'F -- I...'f -- I...were King!


    Each rabbit would show respect to me. The
    chipmunks...



    ...genuflect to me.
    Though my tail would lash
    I would show compash
    For every underling.
    'F -- I...'f -- I --- were King
    Just King!....
    Jun 11, 2010

  • PossibleUnderscore Funny song... I have to agree with you. Jul 17, 2009

  • chained_bear First you get down on your knees
    Fiddle with your rosaries
    Bow your head in great respect and--
    Genuflect, genuflect, genuflect...
    --Tom Lehrer, "The Vatican Rag"

    I can't help it, I start singing this song every time I see this word. Probably because I'm Catholic, I find it unbelievably amusing. Jan 14, 2008

‘genuflect’ has been looked up 1990 times, loved by 6 people, added to 86 lists, commented on 3 times, and has a Scrabble score of 15.