housemaid's knee

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. inflammation of the bursa over the front of the kneecap.

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housemaid's knee British  

noun

1. Technical name: prepatellar bursitis.  inflammation and swelling of the bursa in front of the kneecap, caused esp by constant kneeling on a hard surface

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Etymology

Origin of housemaid's knee

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

They were not to be confused with the socially less acceptable housemaid's knee, which is a bursitis.

From Time Magazine Archive

Retorted Mansfield: "If I pray any more, I'm going to have housemaid's knee."

From Time Magazine Archive

Harris, having a little time on his hands, strolls into a public library, picks up a medical work, and discovers he has every affliction therein mentioned, save housemaid's knee.

From Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia Their Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment by Briggs, Isaac George

He never backed a horse that didn't get housemaid's knee in the middle of the race.

From The Man with Two Left Feet And Other Stories by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)

A somewhat similar swelling, often as large as an egg, is sometimes seen over the kneepan, more often in those who work upon their knees, hence the name housemaid's knee.

From The Home Medical Library, Volume I (of VI) by Winslow, Kenelm