noun
- the patella.
- a protective covering, usually knitted, for the knee.
verb (used with object), knee·capped, knee·cap·ping.
- to cripple (a person) by shooting in the knee: Terrorists were kneecapping prospective jurors.
noun
verb -caps, -capping or -capped (tr)
- (esp of certain terrorist groups) to shoot (a person) in the kneecap, esp as an act of retaliation
1650s, “a covering or protection for the knee,” from knee (n.) + cap (n.). Meaning “bone in front of the knee joint” is from 1869; the verb in the underworld sense of “to shoot (someone) in the knee” as punishment is attested by 1975. Related: Kneecapped.
n.
- patella
- See patella.