From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcurtsycurt‧sy, curtsey /ˈkɜːtsi $ ˈkɜːr-/ verb (curtsied, curtsying, curtsies) [intransitive] SIGN/GESTUREif a woman curtsies, she bends her knees with one foot in front of the other as a sign of respect for an important person → bow —curtsy noun [countable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
curtsy• Sarah curtsied as the future queen entered the room.• He instructed the women to remember to curtsy before the royal personage.Origin curtsy (1500-1600) courtesy 