curtsey

== English == === Alternative forms === curtsy courtsey courtesy (uncommon) === Etymology === Variant of courtesy (1525) (from court +‎ -esy), from Middle English curteisie, curtesie, from Anglo-Norman curtesie, from Old French curteisie, cortoisie. === Pronunciation === (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɝtsɪ/ (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɜːtsɪ/ (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈkʌɾtsɪ/ Hyphenation: curt‧sey === Noun === curtsey (plural curtsies or curtseys) A small bow, generally performed by a woman or a girl, where she crosses the shin of one leg behind the calf of her other leg and briefly bends her knees to lower her body in deference. ==== Hypernyms ==== (gesture): congee, congé, conge ==== Translations ==== === Verb === curtsey (third-person singular simple present curtseys or curtsies, present participle curtseying, simple past and past participle curtseyed) To make a curtsey. 1890, James Russell Lowell, Address in Publications of the Modern Language Association of America But DANTE was a great genius, and language curtseys to its natural Kings. 1903, W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk He curtsied low, and then bowed almost to the ground, with an imperturbable gravity that seemed almost suspicious. 1908, Caroline Crawford, Folk Dances and Games The gentleman bows and the lady curtesys (measure eight). ==== Hypernyms ==== congee, congé, conge ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === Not to be confused with most meanings of courtesy === Further reading === curtsey on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === curtesy