housemaid's knee

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. inflammation of the bursa over the front of the kneecap.

---

housemaid's knee British  

noun

1. Technical name: prepatellar bursitis.  inflammation and swelling of the bursa in front of the kneecap, caused esp by constant kneeling on a hard surface

---

Etymology

Origin of housemaid's knee

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

housemaid's knee

They were not to be confused with the socially less acceptable housemaid's knee, which is a bursitis.

From Time Magazine Archive

Retorted Mansfield: "If I pray any more, I'm going to have housemaid's knee."

From Time Magazine Archive

Of the countless housemaids in whom the prepatellar bursa is subjected to friction and pressure, only a small proportion become the subjects of housemaid's knee.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis

Why I have not got housemaid’s knee, I cannot tell you; but the fact remains that I have not got it. 

From Three Men in a Boat by Jerome, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka)

A somewhat similar swelling, often as large as an egg, is sometimes seen over the kneepan, more often in those who work upon their knees, hence the name housemaid's knee.

From The Home Medical Library, Volume I (of VI) by Winslow, Kenelm