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Added 8 October 2026

knuckle

/ˈnʌkəl/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about knuckle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Any of the joints between the bones of the fingers.
A mechanical joint.
The curved part of the cushion at the entrance to the pockets on a cue sports table.

verb

To apply pressure, or rub or massage with one's knuckles (noun sense 1).
He knuckled the sleep from his eyes.
To strike or punch.
To bend the fingers.

Origin

From Middle English knokel (“finger joint”), from Old English cnucel (“the juncture of two bones; knuckle; joint”), from Proto-West Germanic *knukil, from Proto-Germanic *knukilaz (“knuckle, knot, bump”), as *knukô (“bone, joint”) + *-ilaz (diminutive suffix). Cognate with Dutch knokkel (“knuckle”), Low German Knökel (“knuckle”), German Knöchel (“ankle, knuckle”), Old Norse knykill. More at knock.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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