curtsey
/ˈkɝtsɪ/
"curtsey" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“curtsey” is uncommon English (frequency #99,147 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,147
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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.
| 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) |
Where “curtsey” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
curtsey is uncommon English at frequency #99,147 among 43,570 “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.
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
How do you spell "curtsey"?
What does "curtsey" mean?
How do you pronounce "curtsey"?
What is the origin of the word "curtsey"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “curtsey”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-U-R-T-S-E-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɝtsɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.