Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. present participle of kneel; The act by which...

Ancestry of “kneeling”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūn—
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “kneeling”

  • unkneeling
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →