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curtsy

curtsy

7 6.2
A polite gesture of bending the knees and lowering the body, often by women
  • noun
  • /ˈkɜrtsi/
translation icon : reverencia
  • The young girl performed a curtsy when she greeted the visiting dignitary.
  • made a curtsy
  • bobbed a curtsy
  • dropped deep curtsies

The theme in the in last week's drop, when she mocked that curtsy to the Queen, there's a reason that went viral.

Examples

Synonyms

salute
vscurtsy
  • Formal
83 4.0

A formal gesture showing respect, like raising a hand or bowing

is a gendered knee-bend greeting rather than a formal ceremonial signal
bow
vscurtsy
53 1.0

An act of bending the head forward to show respect

involves a lower-body knee bend rather than just a head or torso tilt
scrape
vscurtsy
  • Archaic
8 9.9

A deep formal bow made by moving one foot back to show respect

is a knee bending lower-body greeting gesture usually performed by women
reverence
vscurtsy
4 6.0

A bow or action that shows deep respect to someone

is a single specific lower-body gesture rather than a general attitude or act
bowing
vscurtsy
1 2.7

Bending the head or upper body forward to show respect

uses knee bending and lowers the whole body rather than only upper body
scraping
vscurtsy
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A deep bow made by moving one foot back to show respect

is a knee bending lower-body greeting gesture usually performed by women

How Respectful

genuflection
1 9.9
bow
53 1.0
curtsy
7 6.2
handshake
117 1.0
to nod
442 1.0
smile
1.0
wave
127 1.0

Surface Forms

curtsy singular
curtsies plural

Etymology

Curtsy comes from the same root as courtesy, which means 'polite behavior' at a royal court. So a curtsy is a small, polite bow made by bending the knees to show respect.