curtsy

or curt·sey

[ kurt-see ]
See synonyms for: curtsycurtsiedcurtsying on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural curt·sies.
  1. a respectful bow made by women and girls, consisting of bending the knees and lowering the body.

verb (used without object),curt·sied, curt·sy·ing.
  1. to make a curtsy.

Origin of curtsy

1
First recorded in 1520–30; variant of courtesy

Words Nearby curtsy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use curtsy in a sentence

  • At a flash I had my whipping in a low dipped curtsy and a mocking smile like that she had flung to Falconnet.

    The Master of Appleby | Francis Lynde
  • In a moment she returned, dropped him a bit of curtsy, and informed him that her mistress would receive him.

British Dictionary definitions for curtsy

curtsy

curtsey

/ (ˈkɜːtsɪ) /


nounplural -sies or -seys
  1. a formal gesture of greeting and respect made by women in which the knees are bent, the head slightly bowed, and the skirt held outwards

verb-sies, -sying, -sied, -seys, -seying or -seyed
  1. (intr) to make a curtsy

Origin of curtsy

1
C16: variant of courtesy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012