cneow

Old English

Alternative forms

• cnēo

Etymology

From earlier cnēo, with the w of the oblique forms and the long diphthong of the endingless forms generalized throughout the paradigm. Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *kneu, from Proto-Germanic *knewą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu.

Germanic cognates: Old Frisian knē, Old Saxon knio, Old High German knio, Old Norse kné, Gothic 𐌺𐌽𐌹𐌿 (kniu).

Indo-European cognates: Sanskrit जानु (jānu), Avestan 𐬲𐬥𐬏𐬨 (žnūm), Old Armenian ծունր (cunr), Albanian gju, Ancient Greek γόνυ (gónu), Latin genu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kne͜oːw/

Noun

cnēow n

1. (anatomy) knee
   • Hīe sǣton on cnēowum ― they sat on their knees.
2. a generation; relationship
   • On ānum cnēowe ― in one generation.

Declension

Declension of cneow (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	cnēow	cnēowu
accusative	cnēow	cnēowu
genitive	cnēowes	cnēowa
dative	cnēowe	cnēowum

Descendants

• Middle English: kne, knewe, knee, knew, know; kneo, cneowe, cneo
  • English: knee
  • Scots: kne, kney, knie
  • Yola: konnee