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curtsy

[kurt-see]
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noun, plural curt·sies.

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.

to make a curtsy.

RELATED WORDS

respond, acknowledge, greet, bow, bend, salute, nod, hunch, attend, receive, stop, hail, accost, embrace, address, meet, approach, concur, acquiesce, curtsy

Nearby words

  1. curtis, george ticknor,
  2. curtiss,
  3. curtiss, glenn hammond,
  4. curtius,
  5. curtsey,
  6. curule,
  7. curule chair,
  8. curvaceous,
  9. curvaceously,
  10. curvature

Origin of curtsy

First recorded in 1520–30; variant of courtesy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for curtsied

British Dictionary definitions for curtsied

curtsy

curtsey

noun plural -sies or -seys

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

(intr) to make a curtsy

Word Origin for curtsy

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
Word Origin and History for curtsied
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper