Revised as of
14 Jan 2023
LOL, no, this one doesn’t come up that often, but it can be very disconcerting when I’m in the middle of reading a passionate love scene, and she’s suddenly needing his muscles with her frantic fingers. Now, I suppose it could be that she does indeed need that one particular muscle, but that wasn’t the muscle she’s needing, at least not from the context of that paragraph.
The opposite occurs as well, and yes, usually within a romance as well when our heroine kneads him, and only him! And no, I haven’t an objection to her only massaging him. I’ll hope he returns the massage, of course.
| Exploring the Differences | ||
|---|---|---|
| . . . frantically, her fingers gripped his biceps and kneaded his well-muscled arms . . .
Ahh, she’s squeezing his arms, opening and closing her fingers. Sounds like she’s really involved in, um, something. |
. . . frantically, her fingers gripped his biceps and kneed his well-muscled arms . . .
Between frantically and kneed, it sounds as if he’s attacking her. She must be on the ground too if she can get her knee slammed into his arms. |
. . . frantically, her fingers gripped his biceps and needed his well-muscled arms . . .
I dunno . . . she’s falling, and she’s in need of his strong arm to help pull her back from the cliff’s edge? |
| I knead you, Lance.
One, English is not her first language. Two, she’s either massaging or wants to massage him. |
I kneed you, Lance.
Ouch!! Right in the groin! He’s gonna be pretty useless. |
I need you, Lance.
She requires his aid with something. Mmm-hmmm, has my imagination workin’. |
Need Has Issues
Need (the noun) has some prepositional requirements, depending upon whether it’s followed by another noun or if the phrase, in need of, is used.
| Need (the noun) followed by another noun | Use Preposition For . . . | . . . NOT Of |
| Due to continuous immigration from the mainland, the need for land has increased. | ||
| If using . . . to be in need of . . . | . . . Use Of | |
| Support is available for those who are in need of it. | ||
| Need (the noun) when followed by a verb | Use the to infinitive form | NOT the -ing infinitive form |
| People feel this fundamental need to organize things. | ||
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Knead | Kneed | Need |
|---|---|---|
Thai Sun 4 is Marcin Bober’s own work under the CC BY 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — This masseuse kneads her skin using herb balls. |
Knee Play by Daniel Johnson from College Grove, Tennessee, USA, (IMG_7903) is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — It’s a kind of “kneed” I wasn’t expecting, lol. |
You Need Only One Soap — Ivory Soap by Adam Cuerden is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons and from an 1898 advertisement for Ivory Soap by the Strobridge Lithography Company of Cincinnati and New York. |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Verb, transitive
Third person present verb: kneads |
Morpheme: knee
Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: knees Third person present verb: knees |
Noun 1 Verb 2, modal, intransitive, & transitive Plural for the noun: needs Third person present verb: needs |
Work moistened flour or clay into dough or paste with one’s hands
|
Noun: The joint between the thigh and the lower leg in humans
An angled piece of wood or metal frame used to connect and support the beams and timbers of a wooden ship An abrupt obtuse or approximately right-angled bend in a graph between parts where the slope varies smoothly [Also called kneeler] A stone cut to follow a sharp return angle Verb, intransitive:
Verb, transitive: To secure (a structure, as a bent) with a knee Hit (someone) with one’s knee |
Noun: Circumstances in which something is necessary, or that require some course of action Necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case
[Often needs] A thing that is wanted or required State of lacking basic necessities such as food or money
A lack of something wanted or deemed necessary Urgent want, as of something requisite Destitution
Verb, intransitive: To be in need or want [Archaic] Be necessary Verb, transitive: Require something because it is essential or very important
To be necessary Verb, modal: |
| Examples: | ||
| Dough must be kneaded to create gluten chains which gives bread its elasticity and helps it to rise so well.
She kneaded his back. I still have to knead the bread before I can go out. He kneaded the fabric of his trousers between his fingers. |
Noun: He suffered a knee injury during the game. The ball bounced off his knee and ran out wide. Goats are the closest in anatomy to the human knee, but sheep and pigs are next. They were eating their suppers on their knees. The knees on those pants are all bagged out. The knee will need to be replaced in the Sea Shell. “Graphical notions of a knee of a curve, based on curvature, are criticized due to their dependence on the coordinate scale: Different choices of scale result in different points being the knee” (Knee). The parish committee finally finished redoing all the kneelers. Verb, intransitive: He was struck, kneed, and choked as they beat him mercilessly. Verb, transitive: When he threw himself on top, he accidentally kneed his partner. Sir Ransom kneed his mount and gained a faster pace. |
Noun: It’s a basic human need for food. There’s no need to cry. His day-to-day needs. A family whose need was particularly pressing. Help us in our hour of need. Verb, intransitive: Lest you, even more than needs, embitter our parting. He need not go. If need be, I can walk to the store. Verb, transitive: This shirt needs washing. They need to win tomorrow. I need money to pay the mortgage. I don’t need your sarcasm. Verb, modal: I need not have worried. |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: kneadable Adverb: kneadingly Noun: kneader, kneadability, kneading Verb, transitive: reknead |
Adjective: unneeded, well-needed Adverb: needs Noun: needer |
|
| Phrasal Verb | ||
| have no need of something if need be in need in need of something there is no need (for someone) to do something |
||
| History of the Word: | ||
| From the Old English cnedan, of Germanic origin.
Related to the Dutch kneden and the German kneten. |
Old English cnēow or cnēo is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch knie and the German Knie, from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin genu and the Greek gonu. | From the Old English nēod, nēd 1, nēodian 2, which is of Germanic origin.
Related to the Dutch nood and the German Not meaning danger. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Knead vs Kneed vs Need
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: need
“Knee of a Curve.” Wikipedia.org. 14 July 2021. Web. 17 Sept 2022. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knee_of_a_curve>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
A Kick to the Groin by SrA Brian J. Ellis is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. It finds U.S. Air Force Capt. Sherry Souriolle, a sexual assault response coordinator (SARC) with 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, preparing to give a kick to the groin of an attacker played by Rick Baldwin, a Northrop Grumman contractor, during self-defense training April 18, 2009, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The SARC is sponsoring training that gives students a chance to learn techniques to defend themselves from attack.
_with_380th_Air_Expeditionary_Wing%2C_prepares_to_give_a_kick_to_the_groin_of_an_attacker_played_by_Rick_Baldwin%2C_a_Northrop_090418-F-OV986-116.jpg){kind=link}
