Knuckle

How to spell knuckle

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce knuckle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does knuckle mean?

1. nounA bony joint where a finger bends, especially where the finger meets the hand.
2. verbTo apply oneself, submit, or press using the knuckles, typically in phrases such as knuckle down or knuckle under.

Knuckle in a sentence

• noun

  He scraped a knuckle while changing the tyre.

• verb

  After weeks of delay they finally had to knuckle down and finish the report.

• noun

  The cold air left every knuckle stiff and sore.

• verb

  The smaller firm refused to knuckle under to the takeover demands.

Where does knuckle come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Knuckle entered Middle English around the 1300s, most likely from a Low German or Middle Dutch source such as knökel, a diminutive meaning 'little bone' or 'small joint'. It is related to the broader Germanic family of words for a knob or lump, and the silent 'k' at the front mirrors the spelling of native English words like 'knee', 'knot' and 'knife', where an original hard 'k' sound was once pronounced but later went quiet. Originally the word could refer to any rounded knobbly joint, including the knee or the knuckle of meat that butchers still sell today. Over time it narrowed in everyday use to the bony joints of the fingers. The figurative phrases 'knuckle down', meaning to apply yourself seriously, and 'knuckle under', meaning to submit, both grew from the literal image of pressing or planting the knuckles. The spelling trap is purely that silent leading 'k', a fossil of the older pronunciation that the modern voice never sounds.

How the word is built

• knuck- (joint, related to bone)
• -le (diminutive suffix)