A curtsey (also spelled curtsy) is a traditional gesture of greeting, in which a woman bends her knees while bowing her head. Its is the female equivalent of male bowing in Western cultures. Bowing is the act of lowering the head, or sometimes the entire upper body from the waist, as a social gesture. ...

In more formal variants of the curtsey, the woman bends the knees outward (rather than straight ahead), often sweeping one foot behind her. She may also use her hands to hold her skirt out from her body.

In European cultures it is traditional for women to curtsey in front of royalty. It may then be referred to as a court curtsey and is often especially deep and elaborate. Royalty may refer to either: the royal family of a country with a monarchy royalties the payment made to the owner of a copyright, patent, or trademark, for the use thereof This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same...

Traditionally, women would curtsey for those of senior social rank just as men would bow. Today this practice has become less common, although in many Western countries it remains customary for girls and young women to curtsey when greeting adults ^{[citation needed]}. According to Victorian dance etiquette, a woman curtseys before beginning a dance. Further, some female domestic workers curtsey in front of their employer. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Etiquette, also known as decorum, is the code that governs the expectations of social behavior, the conventional norm. ... It has been suggested that servant (domestic) be merged into this article or section. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ...

Female Dancers often curtsey at the end of a perfomance to show gratitude and/or acknowledge any applause from the audience. At the end of a ballet class, students will also curtsey or bow to the teacher and the pianist to show gratitude. Bow may mean: Bow (knot): A type of knot Bow (music): A device used to play string instruments Bow (ship): The foremost point of the hull of a ship or boat Bow (weapon): An archery weapon that uses elasticity to propel arrows Bow (human): Bowing is the act of lowering...

See also

• Bowing (social)