knowledgeable 
knowledgeable (nol'ej-:i-bl), u. [< /./< </</<- 
+ -<//)/(-.] 1. Know in;;; intelligent; possessing 
knowledge or mental capacity. [Colloq. ) 
I'll noane deny that In a thing or two I may be more 
kmnii.'il'f'ilil'' than Coiilson. I've had a deal o' time on 
my hands i' my youth, and I'd good schooling as long as 
1,1 1,, i lived. Mrs. Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, ml. 
2f. (.'ogni/.able.; intelligible. 
Certain very knuwledijeable marks. 
Time's Storehouse, p. 49. 
knowledge-box (nol'ej-boks), M. The head. 
[Slang. J 
By Bedford's cut I've triinm'd my locks, 
And coal black Is my knindrdije-box, 
Callous to all, except haul knocks 
Of thumpers. 
The Jacobin, xxil. 116. 
owegng, . nriiti, i- 
ini/, etc-. ; verbal n. of knowledge, v.] Know- 
ledge ; information. 
Malice had my corage 
Nat that tyme turned to no thynge, 
Thorogh to mochel knoidachynyc, 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 796. 
3300 
ovate or lanceolate opposite leaves fascicled In the axils, 
and stipules connate with the petioles in a ibMtb. 'I he 
tlowci-H are small, pink or lilac, anil usually sessile along 
the branches of a cyme which lengthen after flowering. 
The plants are ornamental In cultivation, and have been 
introduced into England u greenhouse-plants. 
Knoxieae (nok-si'e-e), M. ;>(. [NL.(Bentham and 
IIooker,1873),< BlMM +-e<B.] Atribaldivision 
of the natural order of plants liubiacett, con- 
sisting of the gener:i Kmu-in an.l /'< n/rinixi<i. 
being tropical herbs or undershrubs of the Old 
\V< >rld, with connate stipules and terminal inflo- 
rescence. 
knt. An abbreviation of knight. 
knub i nnli), n. [Also nub, q. v.; a var. (= LG. 
kniilihe, > (i. knubbe. knu/ipc, a knob) of knob.] 
1. A blunt end or piece; a small lump. 2. 
See the extract. 
One-seventh of this weight [of common cocoon] Is pure 
cocoon, and of that not more than one-half is obtainable as 
reeled silk, the remainder consisting of surface floss and 
of hard gummy husk or knub. Encyc. Brit., XXII. 60. 
knubt (nub), f. t. [A var. of knob, or from the 
same ult. source; cf. knap 1 ."] To beat; strike 
with the knuckles. 
knurly 
So he knuckled down again, to use his own phrase, ami 
sent old Hulker with iwaccablc overtures to Usborne. 
Thackrray, Vanity Fair, xlii. 
To knuckle under. Same a* to knuckle down (e\ 
But when the upper hand 1s taken ... it naturally 
happens that we knucklr under, with an ounce of Indig- 
nation. R. D. Blackmore, Lonia Doom-, liv. 
knuckle-bow (nuk'l-bo), . That part of tin- 
guard attached to the hilt of certain swonU 
which covers the fingers, reaching in a curved 
form from the cross-guard or shells, where the 
blade joins the handle, to the pommel, or near- 
ly to the pommel. The knuckle-bow was introduced 
at the time of the complete disappearance of the steel 
gauntlet, and Is frequent in the rapier of the seventeenth 
century and In the small sword of t be eighteenth century. 
It Is usually made fast to the pommel, but In rare case* it 
own stiffness supports it without reaching the pommel. 
A^n^^un^ac^^ant^th^e *nuccW . AM^^hf^oU^ 
Anemonea, closely related botanically to Adonis knuck (ra)^_[AIMlMMM| . J 
and Anemone, but differing from both in its ber- 
ry-like carpels. The 5 or 6 species are South African 
perennial herbs with the habit of the UinbelUferai, having 
rigid root-leaves ternately decompound, those of the stem 
often reduced to bracts or wanting, and greenish or yel- 
lowish flowers on irregularly umbellate peduncles. They 
are acrid plants, and their property of producing blisters 
Also knuckle-guard. See cut under hilt. 
knuckledt (nuk'ld), a. [< knuckle, n., + -<-rf2.] 
Jointed. 
It [the reed or cane] hath these properties; that it Is 
hollow, [and] that It is knuckled both stalk and root. 
Bacon, Nat Hist, i 656. 
knuckle-deept (nuk'1-dep), adv. Up to one's 
knuckles; with the whole hand in ; so as to be 
deeply implicated or involved. Davle*. [Rare. ] 
You shall find St. Paul (1 Cor. vL 5) offend against this 
bill, and Intermeddle knuckle-deep with secular affairs by 
inhibiting t he Corinthians very sharply for their chicanery, 
pettifogger)-, and common barretry In going to law one 
with another. Bp. Hacket, Abp. Williams, U. 170. 
eir proper 
hits long been known. The bruised leaves are used at the 
Cape of Good Hone as a substitute for cantharides. The 
sliced root to said to be still more powerful. Reichenbach 
[New Eng. or colloq.] 
'!), n. [< ME. knokel, knokil, < AS. 
'I (Somner, Benson, Lye, Bosworth ; 
not authenticated) = OFries. knokele, knokle = 
MD. kmikkel, D. kneukcl, knokkel = MLG. knokel, 
LG. knukktl, kniichel = MHG. knochel, kniirhel, 
G. knochel = Dan. knogle, knokkel = Sw. dial. 
knjokcl, knuckle, a joint : dim. of a simple form 
. not found in E., namely, MD. knoke, a knuckle, 
made this genus the type of a subsection of the Anemones. knob knot pj. t-, w j. foioofc, knuckle, a bone, = 
Knowltoniea (nol-to-nl e-e), n.pl. [NL. (Rei- MHQ ' fcnoeA Q lmochen ft bo ne = Sw . i^ 
chenbach, 1837), < Knoicltoma + -e<e.J A sub- 
section of the Ranuuculaceie-Anemonete, typified ^ 
by the genus Knowltonia. . 
knowmant, . A perverted form of gnomon. 
Florio. 
known (non), p. n. [Pp. of knoicl, .] Per- 
ceived; understood; recognized; familiar; es- 
pecially, when used absolutely, familiar to all; 
generally understood or perceived 
Same as 
knuckle, 7. It is said, upon English authority only, 
that "this brutal invention is American, but has been 
made familiar in England in police cases between the ofll- 
cers and sailors of American vessels " (S. De Vere, Ameri- 
canisms, p. 320). 
knuckle-guard (nuk'l-giird), n. Same as 
knuckle-bow. 
knuckle-joint (nuk'l-joint), n. 1. An anatom- 
ical joint forming a knuckle, as one of the 
joints of the fingers ; in a whale, the shoulder- 
joint. 2. In mech., any flexible joint formed 
by two abutting links. 
knuckle-timber (nuk'l-tim'ber), n. \iinl.. the 
foremost top-timber of the bulkheads. 
. . . . _, , . , , t ^.| jjav- 
carpal bone and the first phalanx. 2f. The 
knee or knee-joint. 
Thou, Nilus, wert assigned to stay her pains and travails 
This is not oncly Reason but the knmcn Law of the Land. 
Hilton, Elkonoklastes, \ i. 
To which, as soon as lo came with much ado, at last 
With weary knuckles on thy brim she sadly kneeled down. 
(joldin-j. 
Death is the knownest and unknownest thing in the 
world, that of which men have the most thoughts and 3. A joint, especially of veal, consisting of the 
fewest meditations. 5. Ward, Sermons, p. 53. 
It is matter of great consolation to an envious pel-son 
when a man of kiuncn honour does a thing unworthy of 
himself. Steele, Spectator, No. 19. 
The range of the known embiaces much more than the 
sensible, tf. II. Lewes, Prohs. of Life and Mind, I. i. 27. 
To make known, to announce ; communicate ; mention. 
know-nothing (ud'auth^ing), n. and a. [< 
know 1 , f., + ob.j. nothing."] I. n. 1. One desti- 
tute of knowledge ; one who is ignorant, or who 
professes ignorance, of anything; an ignora- 
mus. 2. leap.] A member of the so-called 
American party (which see, under American). 
See also quotation. 
An elaborate code of signals and passwords was adopted, 
and all operations of the " Americans " were wrapped in 
profound secrecy. If a member of the order was asked 
about its practices or purposes, he answered that he knew 
nothing about them, ana "Americans," for that reason, 
soon came to be called Know Nothings. 
T. W. Barnes, Thurlow Weed, p. M. 
II, <i. Very ignorant. 
Their knowing and knmc-nothing books are scatter 'd from 
hand to ham). Tennyson, Despair. 
part of the leg called the knee. It is the part of the 
animal which corresponds to the hock of a horse, or the 
human heel, together with more or less of the leg above 
this Joint. 
I never prosper 
With knuckles o' veal, and birds in sorrel sops. 
Beau, and Fl., Knight of Malta, ii. 4. 
4f. The joint of a plant ; anode. 
Divers herbs . . . have joints or knuckles, as it were stops 
in their germination ; as have gilly-flowers, pinks, fennel, 
com, reeds and canes. Bacon, Nat. Hist, 589. 
5. A joint of cylindrical form, with a pin as 
axis, as that by which the straps of a hinge 
are fastened together. 6. In ship-building, an 
acute angle on some of the timbers. 
This angle, which is continued around the stern until 
the curvature of the buttock breaks continuously into the 
inward inclination of the ship's side, is termed the knuckle. 
Thearle, Naval Arch., 107. 
7. pi. Pieces of metal, usually brass (hence 
specifically known as brass knticklcs), worn by 
lawless persons over the knuckles to protect 
them in striking a blow, and also to make a 
blow more effective. See knuckle-duster. 
Know-nothingism (no'nuth'ing-izm), n. [< knuckle (nuk'l), .; pret. and pp. knuckled, ppr. 
Kiiojc-n<>tliini/, < 2,+-ism.] The doctrines or prin- knuckling. [< knuckle, n.] I. trans. To touch 
or strike with the knuckle; pommel. [Rare.] 
I need not ask thee if that hand, when armed, 
ciples of the Know-nothings. 
Kiumt-Xothinyum was, therefore, something more than 
a lamentable aberration : the republic was seriously men- 
i-d by it, and it violently shook one of its main pillars. 
11. mm Hoist, Const Hist, (trans. X p. 106. 
knowperts (no'perts), . [Perhaps for kno/i- 
inn-t; el'. /.-/iK/i/vrfX] The crowberry,.Epefrw/ 
nigrum. See cnnclii rry. [Scotch.] 
Producing of hoather, ling, blueberries, knoteperts, and 
cranberries. Qeoryc MacDonald, What's Mine's Mine. 
knowt inut). . [Of. two? 1 .] Same as rfocS. 
Knoxia (nok'si-ii), . [NL. (Linmeus), named 
after Robert A'/W, who lived twenty years in 
Ceylon and wrote a history of the island.] A 
genus of rubiaceous plants, forming with Pen- 
tiniisiii tile tribe K>i.rie<r. The genus Is specially 
characterized by a 4-toothed cal\\. :t -J Inbnl stiir.rm, :u;<! 
a dilated fiiniculus to tlu-i ivnles TlH-n- :iru S or 9 species. 
inhabiting India, Java, the Philippine Islands. China, and 
tropical Australia. They are herbs or undue-shrubs with 
, 
Has any Roman soldier mauled and knuckled. 
H. Smith, Address to a Mummy. 
of homag< 
II. in/runs. To bend the knuckles ; hold the 
knuckles (that is, the hand) close to the ground, 
in playing marbles: usually with down. A player 
is i vi|iiiri-il to knuckle rfoirn in order to keep him from gain- 
inu undue advantage by "hunching" nearer the mark. 
As happy as we once, to kneel and draw 
The chalky ring, and knuckle down at taw. 
Cowper, Tirocinium, L 307. 
Mi- (Kemble] could stoop to knuckle down at marbles 
with young players on the highway ; and to utter jokes 
to them with a Cervantlc sort of gravity. 
Doran. Annals of Eng. Stage, II. xix. 
To knuckle down, (o) See above. (6) To apply one's self 
earnestly, as to a task : I-IU.MKI.- vigorously, as in work, (c) 
To submit, as in a contest ; give up ; yield. 
Blue veined and wrinkled, knuckly and brown, 
This good old hand is clasping mine. 
Springfield Rep., Xov. 5, 1866. 
I, n. [Abbr. of knuckle, with ref. 
to knuckling at marbles.] A children's game 
played with marbles. [Local, U. S.] 
knufft (nuf), . [Prob. a var. of gnoff, q. v.] 
A lout; a clown. 
The country knuffs. Hob, Dick, and Hick, 
With clubs and clouted shoon, 
Shall flll up Dussendale 
With slaughtered bodies soon. 
Sir J. Hayvnrd. 
knur, knurr (ner), n. [Also sometimes nur, 
nurr; early mod. E. knurre, < ME. knorre, ktior 
= OD. knorre, a hard swelling, a knot on wood, 
D. knor, knob, = MLG. knorre = MHG. knorre 
(also knurre), G. knorren, a lump, bunch, protu- 
berance, knot (in a reed or straw), = Sw. dial. 
knur, m., knurra, t. ; cf. G. dial, knorz, a knob, 
knot, = Dan. knort, a knot, knarl, knag; cf. 
also D. knorf, a knot; ult. a var. form of knar 1 , 
gnar 1 , in same sense.] It. A knot: same as 
later 1 . See knurl. 
In some kind of timber, like as In marble also, there be 
found certaine knur* like kernils, as hard they he as naile- 
heads, and they plague sawes wheresoever they light upon 
them. HMnul. tr. of Pliny, xvi. 16. 
2. In the game of hockey, same as nur. 
knurl (nerl), . [A dim. form of knur, as 
kiitirl of knar 1 . Cf. knurncd.] 1. A knot; a 
hard substance; a nodule of stone; a protu- 
berance in the bark of a tree. 2. A deformed 
dwarf; a humpback. [North. Eng. and Scotch.] 
The miller was strappin'. the miller was ruddy ; . . . 
The laird was a wlddlefu bleerit knurl. 
Burnt, Meg o' the Mill. 
h -ed*. Cf. 
hiKiiiril. iinarled.] 1. Gnarled; full of n.n.n- 
or knots. 2. Shrunken up. [North. Eng. and 
knurlin (ner'lin), . [For "knurling, < knurl + 
-in;/ 3 .] A stunted person ; a deformed dwarf. 
[Scotch.] 
Wee Pope, the knurlin, 'till him rlres 
Horatlan fame. Burns, On Pastoral Poetry. 
knurly (ner'li), a. [< knurl + -y l . Cf. i 
iiniirly.] Knurled; gnarly; lumpy: a 
apple. 
Till by degrees the tough and Irnurly trunke 
Be rived in sunder. 
Marttun, Antonio and Mellida, II., IT. 2. 
