genū
Alternative forms
Etymology
| PIE word |
|---|
| *ǵónu |
From Proto-Italic *genu, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu. Cognate with Ancient Greek γόνῠ (gónu, “knee; plant node”), German Knie, English knee, Dutch knie.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈɡe.nuː/, [ˈɡɛnuː] or IPA(key): /ˈɡe.nu/, [ˈɡɛnʊ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒe.nu/, [ˈd͡ʒɛːnu]
| Audio (Classical) | Duration: 2 seconds. |
- Note: the nominative/accusative ending vowel of 4th declension neuters is etymologically expected to be short, and is stated to be so by late grammarians. A long vowel would also be expected to be subject to iambic shortening in most forms. There are only two passages that conclusively require a long scansion.[1][2][3][4]
Noun
genū n (genitive genūs); fourth declension
- (literally, anatomy) a knee, kneejoint, kneepan [ quotations ▼]
- an elbow
- (transferred sense) an act of kneeling or beseeching
- (transferred sense, botany) a knot, joint [ synonym ▲]
- Synonym: geniculum
Inflection
Fourth-declension noun (neuter).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | genū | genua |
| Genitive | genūs | genuum |
| Dative | genū | genibus |
| Accusative | genū | genua |
| Ablative | genū | genibus |
| Vocative | genū | genua |