Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “knewlen” come from?

knewlen (Middle English) comes from Old English cnēowlian, from Old English cnēow, from Proto-West Germanic kneu, from Proto-Germanic knewą, from Proto-Indo-European ǵnéwo-, from Proto-Indo-European ǵónu — knee.

Ancestry of “knewlen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishcnēowlianto kneel
2Old Englishcnēow—
3Proto-West Germanickneuknee
4Proto-Germanicknewąknee
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵnéwo-knee
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵónuknee

Words derived from “knewlen”

  • kneeling
  • kneel
  • kneeleth
  • kneelest
  • unkneeling
  • kneelo
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵónu →