King James Bible Dictionary

"Though Orientals are very jealous of their privacy, they never knock when about to enter your room, but walk in without warning or ceremony. It is nearly impossible to teach an Arab servant to knock at your door. They give warning at the outer gate either by calling or knocking. To stand and call is a very common and respectful mode. Thus Moses commanded the holder of a pledge to stand without and call to the owner to come forth (Deuteronomy 24:10). This was to avoid the violent intrusion of cruel creditors. Peter stood knocking at the outer door (Acts 12:13, 16), and the three men sent to Joppa by Cornelius made inquiry and stood before the gate' (10:17, 18). The idea is that the guard over your privacy is to be placed at the entrance."

Knocking is used as a sign of importunity (Matthew 7:7, 8; Luke 13:25), and of the coming of Christ (Luke 12:36; Revelation 3:20).

KNOCK, verb intransitive nok.

1. To strike or beat with something thick or heavy; as, to knock with a club or with the fist; to knock at the door. We never use this word to express beating with a small stick or whip.

2. To drive or be driven against; to strike against; to clash; as when one heavy body knocks against another.

To knock under, to yield; to submit; to acknowledge to be conquered; an expression borrowed from the practice of knocking under the table, when conquered.

KNOCK, verb transitive nok. To strike; to drive against; as, to knock the head against a post.

1. To strike a door for admittance; to rap.

To knock down, to strike down; to fell; to prostrate by a blow or by blows; as, to knock down an ox.

To knock out, to force out by a blow or by blows; as, to knock out the brains.

To knock up, to arouse by knocking. In popular use, to beat out; to fatigue till unable to do more.

To knock off, to force off by beating. At auctions, to assign to a bidder by a blow on the counter.

To knock on the head, to kill by a blow or by blows.

KNOCK, noun nok. A blow; a stroke with something thick or heavy.

1. A stroke on a door, intended as a request for admittance; a rap.

KNOCK'ER, noun nok'er. One that knocks.

1. An instrument or kind of hammer, fastened to a door to be used in seeking for admittance.

KNOCK'ING, participle present tense nok'ing. Beating; striking.

KNOCK'ING, noun nok'ing. A beating; a rap.