Curtsy

By the 17th and 18th centuries, it had become a standard social custom for women when greeting superiors, royalty, nobility, aristocracy or elders in the Western world.

The word "curtsy" is a phonological change from "courtesy" known in linguistics as syncope.

In more formal variants of the curtsy, the girl/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. It is also acceptable in some cultures for the female to curtsy if wearing trousers or shorts.

History

The origins of the curtsy can be traced back to royal court customs in Medieval Europe. Courtly dance and etiquette manuals from the Renaissance describe movements of "women dipping one knee and lowering the body" that evolved into the curtsy. Italy and France under the Valois were central in codifying this gesture.

By the Elizabethan era (1558–1603), court etiquette grew increasingly elaborate. While men were expected to perform deep bows or kneel in deference, women began adopting the curtsy as a gendered alternative, often assisted by the wide farthingale skirts which emphasized the downward motion. According to Desmond Morris, the motions involved in the curtsy and the bow were similar until the 17th century, and the sex differentiation between the actions developed afterwards. The earlier, combined version is still performed by Restoration comedy actors.

By the 1600s, during the Baroque era the curtsy became more widely codified in monarchies like France, Britain, Spain, Austria, or Russia, particularly under monarchs like Louis XIV and Charles I. At the Palace of Versailles, rituals of etiquette including deep curtsies to royalty were embedded into daily life as part of a strict court hierarchy. A lesser but still noticeable curtsy was expected when meeting nobles like dukes/duchesses or counts/countesses, particularly in formal contexts like court gatherings or balls.

In 18th-century Britain, during the Georgian era, the curtsy had become a standard part of feminine etiquette. Girls from aristocratic and upper-middle-class families were trained in deportment schools, where curtsying was taught alongside posture and comportment. In Colonial America, American colonist women of elite families were taught the curtsy. Diaries and etiquette manuals from the colonial period mention young girls practicing the “courtesy” (older spelling) when being introduced or attending church.

In the Victorian era, when women wore floor-length, hooped skirts, they curtsied using the plié movement borrowed from second-position in classical ballet in which the knees are bent while the back is held straight. Both feet and knees point out so the torso lowers straight down. This way, the lady lowers herself evenly and not to one side. Traditionally, women and girls curtsy for those of senior social rank just as men and boys bow. Today this practice has become less common. In Victorian courts, the curtsy was done as a signal for courtship availability, and social status dominance or submissiveness, in order to be successful socially. Further, some female domestic workers curtsy for their employers.

In the United States, enslaved African and African American women were often expected to curtsy when addressing or passing white masters, mistresses, or other figures of authority until the abolition of slavery in 1863. Enslaved people were compelled to use body language and curtsying was one of the expected gestures, especially when entering a room, serving food, or greeting a white mistresses.

By the 18th–19th centuries, outside formal court culture, the practice in everyday life was less rigid. People still curtsied/bowed to landlords, patrons, and social superiors, but it might be more of a polite nod or small dip than a dramatic movement.

Decline

The French Revolution (1789-1799) and later World War I (1914–1918) destroyed much of Europe’s traditional class order. Aristocratic households shrank or disappeared and the elaborate codes of conduct associated with courts and the landed elite became less relevant as the political power of the nobility eroded.

In the interwar years, combined with women’s suffrage movements, a democratic ethos in social life was on the rise. Domestic service lost prestige and manpower since many women entered factories, offices, and nursing. The idea of visibly "submitting" to another person began to feel inappropriate in more middle-class and professional settings.

By the mid-20th century, handshakes and verbal greetings had largely replaced bows and curtsies in Western social life.