French word

agenouiller

Pronunciation

IPA/aʒənuje/

Meaning

  • verbkneel

Example

Je m'agenouille devant l'autel.

I kneel before the altar.

Illustration for agenouiller (kneel)

More examples

Elle a refusé de s'agenouiller devant ses adversaires.

She refused to kneel before her opponents.

Core concept

Knee contact with the ground marks a deliberate change from standing or sitting to a kneeling position, either self-directed or imposed on someone else.

Common phrases

  • s'agenouiller devant quelqu'un

    kneel before someone

Similar words

s'agenouiller: Kneel by bending the knees until they touch the floor.
se mettre à genoux: Move from standing to a kneeling position on the ground.
tomber à genoux: Fall heavily onto the knees because of momentum or impact.

Definition in French

Poser le genou au sol ; verbe indiquant l'action de se mettre à genoux (s'agenouiller) ou, transitivement, de faire agenouiller quelqu'un.

Word origin

Agenouiller combines the prefix a- and the noun genou in a French verb formation; genou developed from the Latin noun genu.

Usage tips

  • Agenouiller quelqu'un can describe a literal act or a forceful figurative one, so the transitive construction may sound severe outside a clear context.

Other meanings

  • force ___ to kneelverb
  • bring ___ to their kneesverb

Opposites

  • se tenir deboutstandverb

Related words

  • agenouillékneelingadjective

Word lists with this word