Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. A small bow, generally performed by a woman or a girl, where she crosses one calf of her leg behind the other and briefly bends her knees and lowers her body in deference.
- v. To make a curtsey.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An act of civility, respect, or reverence, made by women, consisting of a slight depression or dropping of the body, with bending of the knees. Same as 2nd courtesy, n..
- v. to perform a curtsy.
WordNet 3.0
- n. bending the knees; a gesture of respect made by women
- v. bend the knees in a gesture of respectful greeting
Etymologies
- Shortened from courtesy. This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“He explained that the word curtsey comes from the word "courtesy.”
The Huffington Post: Margie Goldsmith: Setting A Courteous Guinness World Record In London
“The "curtsey" -- or "courtesy" -- is a feature of the minuet, and revived with the old-fashioned dance.”
“‘As you please, young gentleman,’ said the landlady, and then, making a kind of curtsey, she again retired to the side apartment.”
“Just as Mrs Jenkins was making a kind of curtsey by the bedside Gladys said that she saw Mr Prothero riding up to the house.”
“She made a kind of curtsey and began to speak, but no sooner did she see his face than she held her tongue.”
“Elfrida's little curtsey was not at all the right kind of curtsey, but it had to do.”
“I was so overwhelmed with surprise and awe that I forgot to make the proper response of a "curtsey," but ran home as fast as I could go to proclaim the wonder.”
“As you please, young gentleman," said the landlady, and then making a kind of curtsey, she again retired to the side apartment.”
“As you please, young gentleman,' said the landlady, and then, making a kind of curtsey, she again retired to the side apartment.”
“Welcome back, Masser Mile," Dido began with a curtsey, meaning "Welcome back from being half-drowned;" "ebberybody _so_ grad you isn't hurt!”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘curtsey’.
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FUN - gestures
There are thousands of sign languages and possibly millions of gestures in human communication but not all of them have a name. Some are understood everywhere, some are understood everywhere but di...
okay sign, abhayamudra, apology, beckoning sign, Bellamy salute, benediction, blessing, blah-blah, "check, please” sign, clenched fist, Chinese number ge..., Clinton thumb and 360 more...
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and ...
Words that, as I see it, have some fond connection to the Alice stories through their creation or particular use by Lewis Carroll. I mean to tie them all together with contexty comments!
alice, daisy-chain, white rabbit, waistcoat-pocket, rabbit-hole, marmalade, antipathy, antipode, curtsey, dinah, tea-time, rat-hole and 232 more...
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Wrapped up in books
I'm reading books. And there are words and phrases I come upon for the first time, or that are used with usages that are new to me.
So, this is just a plain list of those words. Don't expect ...hobble, mackerel, crone, cavort, hoyden, rheumy, scatter, hiss, recoil, trundle, shatter, flaxen and 200 more...
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Nullologue
nullologue, vaudeville, debauchery, debauched, libertine, nothing, dhadak, tz pf, nothingology, goodbyeology, sharmuta, manifesto and 866 more...
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18th century british
from Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer, Christopher Smart's Jubilate Agno, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's School for Scandal ...
intimacy, piety, partiality, sentimental, plasters, mawkish, drab, spurious, sententious, bitters, folly, virtue and 132 more...
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English Two – Summer 2009: Weekly Words
Words that were posted on our English Two blog.
The semester and the course are over now, so this list can be considered finalized.salient, ersatz, purloin, trollop, blitz, dwelling, ample, to get the ax, draconian, madeupical, eerie, gunslinger and 58 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for curtsey.
brtom "If I go to the best room, there I find my host and his story: if I fly to the gallery, there we have my hostess with her curtsey down to the ground. "
Goldsmith, She Stoops, III Jan 11, 2007