curtsey
/ˈkɝtsɪ/
"curtsey" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“curtsey” is uncommon English (frequency #99,147 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,147
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.
Corpus desk
Index EN-curtsey · curtsey · English
curtsey · rank #99,147 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #99,147
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH curiouser
Nearest frequency peer: curiouser (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “curtsey”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- cultus
cultus
856 corpus weight
- curiouser
curiouser
855 corpus weight
- curtsey
curtsey
854 corpus weight
- Cybele
Cybele
852 corpus weight
- cyclohexane
cyclohexane
851 corpus weight
- dahlin
dahlin
848 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “curtsey” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | curtsey |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɝtsɪ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #99,147 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “curtsey” in English
Rare enough to double-check
curtsey is uncommon English at frequency #99,147 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɝtsɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "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.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for curtsey, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Shortened from courtesy, 16th c. The correct English form is curtsey, spelled C-U-R-T-S-E-Y.
Definition
- 1A 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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how curtsey appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I refused to make so much as a curtsey for the passing nobles, as I am a staunch egalitarian.
Wid. I take my leaue with many thouſand thankes. / Rich. The Match is made, ſhee ſeales it with a Curſie.
Etymology
Shortened from courtesy, 16th c.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "curtsey", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).