A gesture or form of respectful greeting, possibly hand-kissing or a formal salute used in formal or courtly contexts.
From French 'baiser' (to kiss) + 'main' (hand), literally 'hand-kiss.' This is a French phrase sometimes used in English to describe formal courtly greeting rituals.
This French courtly term shows how European aristocracy had entire vocabularies for polite gestures—kissing someone's hand was a ritual of respect that required its own special term.
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