genuflection

[ jen-yoo-flek-shuhn ]

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of genuflection¹

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

Example Sentences

Coates chronicles and pays his respects to this kind of proposal but seems to feel that they would be mere genuflection.

From The Daily Beast

A bend of the body and a genuflection were the appropriate answer of the Ethiopian to these observations.

From Project Gutenberg

Whereupon the pony went down on its knees in the sawdust in a genuflection to the man with the whip.

From Project Gutenberg

The donkey drivers performed the same genuflection as the ox-herds, and the scribes noted also the exact number of the animals.

From Project Gutenberg

The High Priestess rose from her genuflection and Forrester followed suit.

From Project Gutenberg

I left the temple without genuflection and walked briskly toward the outlying village of Ranbajpur.

From Project Gutenberg