curtsey en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈkʌɾtsɪ/ (Scotland)
- /ˈkɜːtsɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈkɝtsɪ/ (General-American)
Etymology
Variant of courtesy (1525) (from court + -esy), from Middle English curteisie, curtesie, from Anglo-Norman curtesie, from Old French curteisie, cortoisie.
Meanings
-
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.
No caps were touched, no curtseys bobbed.
1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter II, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC:Wid. I take my leaue with many thouſand thankes. / Rich. The Match is made, ſhee ſeales it with a Curſie.
c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 159, column 2:I refused to make so much as a curtsey for the passing nobles, as I am a staunch egalitarian.
[I]t was her favorite amusement to array herself in the faded brocades, and parade up and down before the long mirror, making stately courtesies, and sweeping her train about, with a rustle which delighted her ears.
1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Amy’s Will”, in Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 284:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| curtsy | alternative | lexicographic | |
| courtsey | alternative | lexicographic | |
| courtesy | alternative | lexicographic | |
| curtseys | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| curtsies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Hypernyms
congé (gesture) · congee (gesture) · conge (gesture)
Translations (35)
it inchino (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · es reverencia (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · ru кни́ксен (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · bg ревера́нс (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · ru ревера́нс (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · sk úklon (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · ru приседа́ние (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · pt cortesia (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · ga umhlú (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · sh kniks (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · de Knicks (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · fr révérence (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · pl dygnięcie (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · cs pukrle (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · sv nigning (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · ja おじぎ (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · sh кникс (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · da kniks (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · cs úklona (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · pt reverência (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · cmn 屈膝禮 /屈膝礼 (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · sv knix (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · pl dyg (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · nl nijging (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · is hnébeyging (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · tr reverans (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · fi niiaus (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · ro reverență (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · ko 인사 (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · da nej (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · da nejning (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · it riverenza (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · sk pukrlík (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · is hneiging (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female) · hu pukedli (small bow of knees and lowered body, usually by a female)