genou

See also: genoù

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French genouz, genoilz plural of genoil, from Late Latin genuculum, alteration of Latin geniculum, diminutive of genū (“knee”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu. Cognate with Bourguignon genô, Occitan genolh.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒə.nu/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Homophone: genoux

Noun

genou m (plural genoux)

1. knee
2. lap

Usage notes

Only seven words in French ending in -ou have their plurals in -oux instead of -ous: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou.

Derived terms

• agenouiller
• genouillère
• mou du genou

Descendants

• Esperanto: genuo

Further reading

• “genou”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norman

Noun

genou m (plural genoux)

1. Alternative form of g'nou