curtsey
To make a curtseyTo make a curtsey.
» The duchess curtsied gracefully before the king.
Meaning
1 sensesTo make a curtsey.
The hotel's staff never curtsied, nodded, or bowed to the owner as she passed, as they were staunch egalitarians.
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.
knicksen
- bend the knees in a gesture of respectful greeting
Examples
5 sentencesThe duchess curtsied gracefully before the king.
Nobody really curtsies anymore.
She curtsied with impeccable grace.
Mary should curtsey.
After dropping a curtsey, she stood blinking at us with her bleared eyes and fumbling in her pocket with nervous, shaky fingers.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
Variant of courtesy (1525) (from court + -esy), from Middle English curteisie, curtesie, fVariant of courtesy (1525) (from court + -esy), from Middle English curteisie, curtesie, from Anglo-Norman curtesie, from Old French curteisie, cortoisie.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
curtseys, curtseying, curtseyed, curtseyedSynonyms
1 synonyms- bend the knees in a gesture of respectful greeting:curtsy
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle