Kneel

Kneel
This interesting name is a variant form of the surname "Neil", which is of Gaelic (Irish) origin from the personal name "Niall", thought to mean "champion". The Norsemen who settled in Ireland before the 11th Century adopted the name as "Njall", and introduced it into North West England when they began to invade and settle there directly from Ireland. The Norsemen were also indirectly responsible for the name being introduced to Southern England by the Normans after 1066, who had adopted it form the Scandinavians as "Ni(h)el". The name is now found in many variant forms in England, Ireland and Scotland. The surname Kneal, Kneel, or Kneale is from the Isle of Man, but from the same origins, and is a typical Manx contraction of the Gaelic patronymic "Mac Niall", son of Niall. Early recordings from the Isle of Man include John Kneel who married Isabella Caveen at Malew on July 12th 1636 and John Kneale who married Katherin Kewne also at Malew, on July 10th 1655. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ewan Kneal, which was dated 1598, in the "Ancient Manx Records", during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kneel — (n[=e]l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Knelt} (n[e^]lt) or {Kneeled} (n[=e]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Kneeling}.] [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. kn[ae]le. See {Knee}.] To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; sometimes with down. [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • kneel — [ni:l] v also kneel down past tense and past participle knelt [nelt] also kneeled AmE [I] [: Old English; Origin: cneowlian] to be in or move into a position where your body is resting on your knees ▪ Tom knelt down and patted the dog. kneel on ▪ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • kneel — [ nil ] (past tense and past participle knelt [ nelt ] or kneeled) verb intransitive * kneel or kneel down to put one or both knees on the ground: She knelt in front of the fire to warm herself. I knelt down on the floor beside her. a. to have… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • kneel — kneel·er; kneel·ing·ly; kneel; …   English syllables

  • kneel´er — kneel «neel», verb, knelt or kneeled, kneel|ing, noun. –v.i. 1. to go down on one s knee or knees: »She knelt down to pull a weed from the flower bed. I kneeled down, and gave God thanks aloud for my recovery from my sickness (Daniel Defoe) …   Useful english dictionary

  • kneel to — index obey Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • kneel — (v.) O.E. cneowlian, from cneow (see KNEE (Cf. knee)); Cf. M.L.G. knelen, M.Du. cnielen, Du. knielen Goth. knussjan. Past tense knelt is a modern formation (19c.) on analogy of feel/felt, etc. Related: Kneeling …   Etymology dictionary

  • kneel — The past and past participle form knelt is now more common than kneeled in all varieties of English: • Some of the recruits knelt to pray before retiring, presumably for strength Anthony Burgess, 1987 …   Modern English usage

  • kneel — [v] get down on one’s knees bow, bow down, curtsey, do obeisance, genuflect, kowtow, prostrate oneself, stoop; concept 154 …   New thesaurus

  • kneel — ► VERB (past and past part. knelt or chiefly N. Amer. also kneeled) ▪ fall or rest on a knee or the knees. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • kneel — [nēl] vi. knelt or kneeled, kneeling [ME knelen < OE cneowlian < cneow, KNEE] to bend or rest on a knee or the knees …   English World dictionary

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