Where does “kneeling” come from?
Kneeling comes from Middle English and Old English -ing, derived from Old English -ung and ultimately Proto-Germanic -ungō, a suffix forming nouns from verbs.
kneeling (English): present participle of kneel; The act by which...
Definitions
- present participle of kneel; The act by which...
Ancestry of “kneeling”, step by step
kneeling traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English kneel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | kneel | To rest on one's bent knees, sometimes only one;... |
| 2 | Middle English | knelen | To kneel or genuflect; to rest on one's knees |
| 3 | Old English | cnēowlian | to kneel |
| 4 | Old English | cnēow | knee |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kneu | knee |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | knewą | knee |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵnéwo- | knee |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵónu | knee |
via Middle English knelinge
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | knelinge | — |