כָּרַע (b. h.; denom. of כֶּרַע) to bow, bend the knee. Ber. 12ᵃ כשהוא כוֹרֵעַ וכ׳ when bowing in prayer, one must bow at the word barukh, opp. זָקַף. Ib. 34ᵇ; Y. ib. I, 3ᶜ bot. (interch. with שחה); a. v. fr.
Hif. - הִכְרִיעַ 1) to cause to kneel; to subdue; to humiliate, sadden. Gen. R. s. 65; Yalk. Gen. 114 אני מַכְרִיעַ את אוהבי I shall sadden my friend. Gen. R. s. 75, beg., v. כָּרַח. Gen. R. s. 67 מה אני מכריע וכ׳ (Yalk. ib. 116 מַעֲכִיר) why shall I sadden my father? —2) to put the knee of the balance down; to overbalance; to outweigh. Y. Peah I, 16ᵇ bot. הזכיות מַכְרִיעוֹת the good deeds overbalance (the sins). Ab. II, 8 מַכְרִיעַ את כלם outweighs them all. B. Bath. V, 11 חייב להַכְרִיעַ לו טפח (weighing a litra of meat or more) he must allow the scale (which contains the meat) to sink one handbreadth lower than the scale of weights, i.e. he must give overweight, opp. עיין to weigh exactly. Ib. 89ᵃ שקול לי … והַכְרִיעָהּ weigh for me each litra for itself and give me the legal overweight on it; a. fr.—Y. Sabb. I, 3ᶜ bot. הַכְרַע עליו כסף put money to it in the balance (bribe him). Gen. R. s. 80 כמה ממון ה׳ how much money he put in the balance (paid for it).—Trnsf. to cast the deciding vote, to decide. Tosef. Ḥull. VII, 1; Ḥull. 90ᵇ; Pes. 83ᵇ הדעת מַכְרַעַת reason decides, v. דַּעַת. Y. Keth. II, 26ᵇ; Y. Yeb. X, 10ᵈ bot. הדעת מכרעת בעידי מיתה (not לידי) reason decides in favor of trusting the witnesses testifying to the death of a person. —3) to keep the balance; trnsf. to harmonize two contrary opinions, to compromise. Sifra introd. שני כתובים המכחישים … ויַכְרִיעַ ביניהם when two Biblical verses contradict each other, you must not draw any conclusions until a third verse is found which harmonizes them. Ib. end (ref. to Ex. XIX, 20 a. Deut. IV, 36) הכ׳ השלישי a third passage (Ex. XX, 22) harmonizes (that the Lord lowered the heavens so as to make them rest on Mount Sinai); Mekh. Yithro, Baḥod. s. 9. Sifré Num. 58.—Kidd. 24ᵇ המַכְרִיעִים לפני חכמים the harmonizers arguing before the scholars. Sabb. 39ᵇ כל מקום … ואחד מכריע הלכה כדברי המכ׳ whenever you find two scholars differing and one compromising, the practice follows the opinion of the compromiser; a. fr.—V. הֶכְרַע, הַכְרָעָה.