Etymology 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.
The kneejoint of a quadruped, especially of a calf; formerly, the kneejoint of a human being.
With wearie knockles on thy brim she kneeled sadly downe1567, Ovid, “(please specify the book number or chapter)”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC:
5
A cut of meat of various kinds.
Beef knuckle is from the knee joint. Pork knuckle, or ham hock, is from the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the leg.
In the West Indies there are found, even in sandy deserts and very dry places, large canes, which at every joint or knuckle yield a good supply of fresh water1623, Francis Bacon, The History of Dense and Rare:
7
Business, Manufacturing, Shipbuilding A convex portion of a vessel's figure where a sudden change of shape occurs, as in a canal boat, where a nearly vertical side joins a nearly flat bottom.
8
A contrivance, usually of brass or iron, and furnished with points, worn to protect the hand, to add force to a blow, and to disfigure the person struck; a knuckle duster.
brass knuckles
9
Hobbies, Lifestyle, Skiing, Snowboarding, Sports The rounded point where a flat changes to a slope on a piste.
Etymology 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.
1
To apply pressure, or rub or massage with one's knuckles (noun sense 1).
I could feel my big toe snap, but as he's gone down on his good knee and half swung round I knuckled him in the kidney as hard as I could hit. He's gone all the way down, so I dropped my 19 stone into the middle of his back.2013, Lenny McLean, The Guv'nor:
Only then I knuckled him. He had to be taught a hard lesson.2014, W. Smyth, Mama OM, page 415:
Hobbies, Lifestyle, Skiing, Snowboarding, Sports To land on the knuckle (noun sense 9) of a curve of a slope, after a jump off a ramp that precedes the slope.