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fawning; as, servile flattery; servile fear; servile obedience. She must bend the servile knee. Thomson. Fearing dying pays death servile breath. Shak.

To walk awkwardly and unsteadily, as if the knees were weak; to shuffle along.

The part of the leg from the knee to the foot; the shin; the shin bone; also, the whole leg. His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank. Shak.

The front part of the leg below the knee; the front edge of the shin bone; the lower part of the leg; the shank. "On his shin." Chaucer.

Coverings for the legs of men or boys, consisting of trousers which reach only to the knees, -- worn with long stockings.

To strike; to collide; to beat. [Archaic] The heart meleth, and the knees smite together. Nah. ii. 10.

ure or disembodied spirit. That to his only Son . . . every soul in heaven Shall bend the knee. Milton.

rts of; in defiance or contempt of; notwithstanding. "Continuing, spite of pain, to use a knee after it had been slightly ibnjured." H. Spenser. "And saved me in spite of the world, the devil, and myself." South. "In spite of all applications, the patient grew worse every day." Arbuthnot. See Syn. under Notwithstanding…

ne of the small plates of metal used in making splint armor. See Splint armor, below. The knees and feet were defended by splints, or thin plates of steel. Sir. W. Scott.

o be supported on the feet, in an erect or nearly erect position; -- opposed to lie, sit, kneel, etc. "I pray you all, stand up!" Shak.

An inverted knee timber placed upon the deck instead of beneath it, with its vertical branch turned upward from that which lies horizontally.

oy. -- Stern frame (Naut.), the framework of timber forms the stern of a ship. -- Stern knee. See Sternson. -- Stern port (Naut.), a port, or opening, in the stern of a ship. -- Stern sheets (Naut.), that part of an open boat which is between the stern and the aftmost seat of the rowers, -- usually furnished with s…

The end of a ship's keelson, to which the sternpost is bolted; -- called also stern knee.

he flank, in the hind leg of the horse and allied animals; the joint corresponding to the knee in man; -- called also stifle joint. See Illust. under Horse. Stifle bone, a small bone at the stifle joint; the patella, or kneepan.

A bench or form for resting the feet or the knees; a footstool; as, a kneeling stool.

er than a rope; as, a shoe string; a bonnet string; a silken string. Shak. Round Ormond's knee thou tiest the mystic string. Prior.

; as, stubborn wills; stubborn ore; a stubborn oak; as stubborn as a mule. "Bow, stubborn knees." Shak. "Stubborn attention and more than common application." Locke. "Stubborn Stoics." Swift. And I was young and full of ragerie [wantonness] Stubborn and strong, and jolly as a pie. Chaucer. These heretics be so stiff an…

Supplication; entreaty. When Greece her knee in suppliance bent. Halleck.

Manifesting entreaty; expressive of supplication. To bow and sue for grace With suppliant knee. Milton.

A knee placed under the cathead.