knep

English

Alternative forms

• knepp, kneppe, knip, nep, nip

Etymology

From Middle English *kneppen (compare Middle English knippette (“pincers for cracking nuts”)), from Old Norse kneppa (“to clamp, clasp, pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-Germanic *knappijaną (“to clamp, squeeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *gnebʰ- (“to press, tighten, constrict”). Cognate with Scots knep (“to clench, bind”), Norwegian Nynorsk kneppa (“to squeeze or join together”), obsolete Danish kneppe (“to snap”), Dutch knippen (“to clip, snip”), knijpen (“to pinch, nip”).

Verb

knep (third-person singular simple present kneps, present participle knepping, simple past and past participle knepped)

1. (Northern England) To bite gently, nibble.
2. (Northern England, of animals) To graze, crop; (of horses) to bite in play.
3. (Northern England) To pick or pick off (e.g. flowers, berries, etc.)
4. (Scotland) To clasp the hands; to clench one's fists.
5. (Scotland) To tie or bundle something tightly and securely.

Noun

knep (plural kneps)

1. (Northern England, in the plural) Synonym of kneppars

Derived terms

• kneppars
• kneps

Danish

Verb

knep

1. imperative of kneppe

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German knepe.

Noun

knep n (definite singular knepet, indefinite plural knep, definite plural knepa or knepene)

1. a trick

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• kneip

Verb

knep

1. simple past of knipe

References

• “knep” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Middle Low German knepe.

Noun

knep n (definite singular knepet, indefinite plural knep, definite plural knepa)

1. a trick

References

• “knep” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

From Middle Low German knep. Cognate of Danish kneb. Compare also recent German Kniff. Related to the verb knipa (“squeeze”). Doublet of knip, knippe, and knippa.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

knep n

1. a trick; something designed to fool or swindle.
2. an inventive or ingenuous solution to a problem, or such a shortcut to a solution

Declension

Declension of knep
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	knep	knepet	knep	knepen
Genitive	kneps	knepets	kneps	knepens

Verb

knep

1. past indicative of knipa

References

• knep in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Further reading

• knep in Svensk ordbok.
• knep in Reverso Context (Swedish-English)