Curtsey is an English word with synonyms like curtsy or bow. Below you'll find 7 example sentences showing how it's used in practice.
Curtsey meaning
A small bow, generally performed by a woman or a girl, where she crosses the shin of one leg behind the calf of her other leg and briefly bends her knees to lower her body in deference.
Using Curtsey
- The main meaning on this page is: A small bow, generally performed by a woman or a girl, where she crosses the shin of one leg behind the calf of her other leg and briefly bends her knees to lower her body in deference.
- Useful related words include: curtsy, bow, bowing, obeisance.
- In the example corpus, curtsey often appears in combinations such as: to curtsey, curtsey to.
Context around Curtsey
- Average sentence length in these examples: 22 words
- Position in the sentence: 3 start, 1 middle, 3 end
- Sentence types: 7 statements, 0 questions, 0 exclamations
Corpus analysis for Curtsey
- In this selection, "curtsey" usually appears near the start of the sentence. The average example has 22 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
- Around the word, little, performed and now stand out and add context to how "curtsey" is used.
- Recognizable usage signals include a little curtsey and me and bow they curtsey a contraction. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
- By corpus frequency, "curtsey" sits close to words such as aad, aadhar and aaro, which helps place it inside the broader word index.
Example types with curtsey
The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:
Curtsey or bow your head. (5 words)
Stevens performed curtsey in the middle of the ring and winked directly into the camera. (15 words)
That could have led to the embarrassing prospect of Meghan having to curtsey to the princesses. (16 words)
In western European cultures, women do not bow, they " curtsey " (a contraction of courtesy that became its own word), a movement in which one foot is moved back and the entire body lowered to a crouch while the head is bowed. (41 words)
If Kate and Meghan are accompanied by their husbands William or Harry, then royals such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie or even the older Countess of Wessex would have to curtsey to them. (33 words)
A few of the girls messaged me asking if I was putting the medal on my waistcoat and if they have to curtsey now. (24 words)
Example sentences (7)
A few of the girls messaged me asking if I was putting the medal on my waistcoat and if they have to curtsey now.
She pranced onto the platform, as unicorns will do; she bowed a little curtsey, and me, well I bowed too.
That could have led to the embarrassing prospect of Meghan having to curtsey to the princesses.
Stevens performed curtsey in the middle of the ring and winked directly into the camera.
Curtsey or bow your head.
If Kate and Meghan are accompanied by their husbands William or Harry, then royals such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie or even the older Countess of Wessex would have to curtsey to them.
In western European cultures, women do not bow, they " curtsey " (a contraction of courtesy that became its own word), a movement in which one foot is moved back and the entire body lowered to a crouch while the head is bowed.
Common combinations with curtsey
These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:
- to curtsey 3×
- curtsey to 2×