Definition of "genuflect"

genuflect

/ˈd͡ʒɛn.jʊ.flɛkt/

verb
third-person singular simple present genuflects, present participle genuflecting, simple past and past participle genuflected
1. (intransitive, archaic) To bend the knee, as in servitude.
2. (intransitive) To briefly enter a position that touches one knee to the ground in a manner that is typically associated with formal homage or religious worship.
  Quotations
  At high Mass the deacon and subdeacon stand on either side, genuflect too, and answer.
  1913, Adrian Fortescue, Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Gospel in the Liturgy
  First you get down on your knees, fiddle with your rosaries, / Bow your head with great respect and genuflect, genuflect, genuflect.
  1965, Tom Lehrer, The Vatican Rag
  She took the holy water on her fingertips and made the sign of the cross, fleetingly touched her wet fingertips to her parched lips. Candles flickered redly before the saints, the Christ on his cross. Kay genuflected before entering her row and then knelt on the hard wooden rail of the pew to wait for her call to Communion.
  circ. 1965, Mario Puzo, The Godfather
3. (intransitive, figurative) To behave in a servile manner; to grovel.
  Quotations
  Certainly, the megalomaniacs who aim to populate municipal fixtures with registered-trademark logos will expect cities to genuflect at every turn.
  2017 September 27, Julianne Tveten, “Zucktown, USA”, in The Baffler‎

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