See Also: genuflect(dictionary)
genuflect(dictionary)

genuflect (iou)



genuflect verb. M17.
[ecclesiastical Latin genuflectere, from genu knee + flectere to bend.]
verb trans. Bend (the knee). Only in M17.
verb intrans. Chiefly in Catholic or Anglo-Catholic ritual: lower one knee (or both knees simultaneously) momentarily to the ground, as an act of worship. (Foll. by before, to.) M19.
b. fig. Display servile obedience or deference to. L19.
Janet Morgan The lower servants genuflected to those in higher authority.
genuflector noun a person who genuflects M19.
genuflectory adjective relating to genuflexion M19.