the.com/curtsy
a wobbly bow performed under the polite tyranny of skirts and royal eyeballs.
means A respectful gesture made by bending the knees with one foot behind the other, traditionally performed by women and girls as a sign of deference, especially to royalty or social superiors.
from Curtsy is simply a worn-down spelling of courtesy — the same word, but as the abstract notion of polite behavior narrowed into one specific bodily act. Courtesy itself comes through Old French corteisie, from cortois, 'having manners fit for a court' (cort, court). So a curtsy is, quite literally, 'courtesy' shortened — the politeness folded down into a dip of the knees.
- name origin
- A worn-down variant of the word courtesy.
- royal protocol
- British etiquette still expects curtsies for the monarch.
- male version
- Men historically bowed instead, both meaning respectful submission.
- theater roots
- Stage curtains close as performers curtsy goodbye.
- footwork
- Proper form crosses one foot behind the other.
royal curtsy at coronation — kate middleton curtsied to king charles iii at westminster abbey, 2023
debutante curtsy — young women presented at court with formal curtsy, british tradition until 1958