genuflection

American  

[jen-yoo-flek-shuhn] / ˌdʒɛn yʊˈflɛk ʃən /

especially British, genuflexion

noun

1. an act of bending the knee or touching it to the ground in reverence or worship.

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Etymology

Origin of genuflection

First recorded in 1520–30, genuflection is from the Medieval Latin word genūflexiōn- (stem of genūflexiō ). See genuflect, -ion

Example Sentences

To her left, Melvin Gibbs played electric bass—sometimes nonchalantly, sometimes with one bent knee, as if in genuflection.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

“It’s only a movie, and … a much less impressive one than all the accompanying genuflection would have you believe.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2024

Still, they’ve all grown too used to each other to engage in much genuflection: When you treat an awards campaign like a full-time job, the other contenders might as well be your co-workers.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2024

But Adam didn’t do rhyme and meter, for one thing — too much like mandatory genuflection in church, he once remarked.

From Washington Post • Feb. 23, 2023

And as he passed the open door of the lighted room he saluted the corpse with another genuflection.

From L'Assommoir by Zola, Émile