A curtsey (also spelled curtsy) is a traditional gesture of greeting, predominantly done by women, in which the woman bends her knees while bowing forwards.

According to Victorian dance etiquette, it was traditional for a woman to curtsey before beginning a dance. For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... Etiquette, also known as decorum, is the code that governs the expectations of social behavior, the conventional norm. ...

In European cultures it is also traditional for women to curtsey in front of a monarch. Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A monarch (see sovereign) is a type of ruler or head of state. ...

See also: bowing (social) Bowing is the act of lowering the head, or sometimes the entire upper body from the waist, as a social gesture. ...