Made a respectful curtsy gesture by bending the knees, shown in past tense.
Past tense of 'curtsy,' from 'courtesy.' This is the modern standard spelling of the past tense, replacing older 'curtseyed.'
Dictionaries eventually standardized 'curtsy' over 'curtsey' because it's shorter and easier to conjugate—'curtsied' is simpler than 'curtseyed,' so language naturally picked the winner!
An alternative spelling variant of curtseyed, carrying the same gendered history of women's required physical deference in social hierarchies.
Use 'bowed' instead. If discussing historical practice, contextualize as a gendered requirement.
["bowed","showed respect"]
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