A small bow, generally performed by a woman or a girl, where she crosses one calf of her leg behind the other and briefly bends her knees and lowers her body in deference.

“I refused to make so much as a curtsey for the passing nobles, as I am a staunch egalitarian.”

To make a curtsey.

“The hotel's staff variously curtsied, nodded, and bowed to the owner as she passed.”