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Obeisance   Listen
noun
Obeisance  n.  
1.
Obedience. (Obs.)
2.
Deference or homage, or an expression of deference or respect; a bow; a curtsy. "Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance unto the king."






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Obeisance" Quotes from Famous Books



... influence of her presence, thus accompanied, poor Bridgenorth was almost overwhelmed with it. The strictness of his cast and manners permitted him not to sink on his knee, and kiss the hand which held his little orphan; but the deepness of his obeisance—the faltering tremor of his voice—and the glistening of his eye, showed a grateful respect for the lady whom he addressed, deeper and more reverential than could have been expressed even by Persian prostration. A few courteous and mild words, expressive of the pleasure she ...
— Peveril of the Peak • Sir Walter Scott

... most reverent obeisance, for he was still the great man of the county, though he had not been in our town for years, I asked his pardon for my intrusion, and then drew back to let him pass. But he stopped and gave me a keen look, and speaking my name, ...
— The Old Stone House and Other Stories • Anna Katharine Green

... right hand with that of his companion and then pulled until their fingers broke apart, when they each uttered the word "Honor." This must not be spoken before they broke apart, but as soon as possible after, and he who was first heard was entitled to an obeisance on the part of the other. Those who failed the first trial sat down, and those who succeeded paired off and pulled once more, and so on until only one was left, who, as in the spelling-bees of our boyhood days, became the ...
— The Chinese Boy and Girl • Isaac Taylor Headland

... how my recent deadness of life cried out against me as worse than a spendthrift, a destroyer! a nerveless absorbent of the bliss showered on me—the light of her morning presence when, just before embracing, she made her obeisance to the margravine, and kindly saluted me, and stooped her forehead for the baroness to kiss it; her gestures and her voice; her figure on horseback, with old Warhead following, and I meeting her ...
— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith

... length of lands he trod before, Sends forth his active mind from place to place, Joins hill to dale, and measures space with space: So swift flew Juno to the bless'd abodes, If thought of man can match the speed of gods. There sat the powers in awful synod placed; They bow'd, and made obeisance as she pass'd Through all the brazen dome: with goblets crown'd(239) They hail her queen; the nectar streams around. Fair Themis first presents the golden bowl, And anxious asks what ...
— The Iliad of Homer • Homer

... pulpit, and spoke to me in something of a pulpit voice, but not a word was comprehensible. I tried him first in English, then in Gaelic, both in vain; so that it was clear we must rely upon the tongue of looks and gestures. Thereupon I signed to him to follow me, which he did readily and with a grave obeisance like a fallen king; all the while there had come no shade of alteration in his face, neither of anxiety while he was still waiting, nor of relief now that he was reassured; if he were a slave, as I supposed, I ...
— The Merry Men - and Other Tales and Fables • Robert Louis Stevenson

... "a most shabby assemblage of quite the lowest of the people, about fifty in number, who every now and then kept calling out 'Queen, Queen!' and several times, once in about a quarter of an hour, she came out of one window of a balcony and Alderman Wood at the other, and she bowed to them; her obeisance, of course, being met by augmented acclamations. My friend," adds Mr. Wilberforce, "entered into conversation with a person present who argued for the natural equality of man, and that any other of the people present had as good right to be King ...
— Memoirs of the Court of George IV. 1820-1830 (Vol 1) - From the Original Family Documents • Duke of Buckingham and Chandos

... said the tall Chinaman, with an obeisance the like of which was never made in western lands, "welcome to our country; you have been good, indeed, to this boy—the Light of my Eyes, the Heart of my Heart! Madam of this illustrious mandarin, never will I forget you, nor"—turning to the two half-frightened children—"nor ...
— Little Sky-High - The Surprising Doings of Washee-Washee-Wang • Hezekiah Butterworth

... officers of the crown, and the enthusiasm of Madame de Stael, which had been on the increase every instant, reached a climax when she recognized Monsieur Necker, conspicuous by his size and bearing, among the entourage of Louis, and, when she courtesied, the obeisance seemed intended more for her father than ...
— Calvert of Strathore • Carter Goodloe

... was something so comical about the little mite of a child, something so masterful in the tiny figure, something so commanding in the loud, deep-toned baby voice, that every one laughed, and somehow or other Adam forgot his obstinacy and made his obeisance like a ...
— The Adventures of Akbar • Flora Annie Steel

... whispered about. But although the celebrated orthodoxy of the Todros was much discussed by these scholars, they were greatly in the minority—only a score among the masses of believers. The crowd believed, worshipped, and went to Szybow as to a holy place, to make obeisance and ask for advice, consolation, ...
— An Obscure Apostle - A Dramatic Story • Eliza Orzeszko

... gently to my grateful obeisance for this offer, and told me I should not know the Princess Amelia, she was so much grown, adding, "She is taller ...
— The Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay Volume 3 • Madame D'Arblay

... their coming to buy corn; but when the event took place, must he not have felt that there was prophetic purpose in the form of the sheaves of wheat which first imaged forth their subjection to him? And these two images of the sun doing obeisance, and the sheaves bowing down,—narrowed and imperfect intimations of great truth which yet could not be otherwise conveyed,—are both grotesque. The kine of Pharaoh eating each other, the gold and clay of Nebuchadnezzar's image, the four beasts full of eyes, and ...
— The Stones of Venice, Volume III (of 3) • John Ruskin

... which had not made their submission. Albine and Serge passed like monarchs through the kingdom of animals, who rendered them humble and loyal obeisance. When they crossed the parterre, flights of butterflies arose to delight their eyes, to fan them with quivering wings, and to follow in their train like living sunbeams or flying blossoms. In the orchard, they were greeted by the birds that banqueted ...
— Abbe Mouret's Transgression - La Faute De L'abbe Mouret • Emile Zola

... every one of them made obeisance. Yet was there something ironical in the very humility of some? I could not tell; yet my heart burned within me as I followed our mistress; and never had I known her so silent as she was upon our journey back, or as we sat at supper, the rest ...
— A Heroine of France • Evelyn Everett-Green

... daisies on a flowery lay They saw; and thitherward they bent their way; To this both knights and dames their homage made, And due obeisance to the daisy paid. And then the band of flutes began to play, To which a lady sung a virelay: And still at every close she would repeat The burden of the ...
— Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 427 - Volume 17, New Series, March 6, 1852 • Various

... as if they were quite three, I admit. Now listen, and make obeisance to me: 'From the point called Ventre ...
— The Companions of Jehu • Alexandre Dumas, pere

... winced a little, and his florid face took on an added color. In his embarrassment he giggled like a bashful boy, and scraped one foot behind him in a low obeisance. ...
— Joyce's Investments - A Story for Girls • Fannie E. Newberry

... forward upon the marble, and the rustle of her dress and the quick short sound of her heeled shoes, roused the two slave-girls to spring to their feet. They did not know the queen, but they thought it best to make a low obeisance, while their dark eyes endeavoured quickly to scan the details of her dress, without exhibiting too much boldness. Atossa beckoned to one of them to come to her, and smiled graciously as ...
— Marzio's Crucifix and Zoroaster • F. Marion Crawford

... impossible to thought as such a longing for intercourse with the awful and the remote—"With my soul have I desired thee in the night;" "My soul is athirst for God;" no, not so, says the listener who stands without—I will come to his house and make obeisance, but let me withdraw soon again from his presence, and dwell undaunted among ...
— Fated to Be Free • Jean Ingelow

... have been striving to do my devoir to my liege's sisters,' answered George. 'How does my father?—and my mother? Make your obeisance to the Duke of the Tirol, Rab. Ye can knap the French with him better than I. Now I can go with him as becomes a yerl's son, for the freedom of ...
— Two Penniless Princesses • Charlotte M. Yonge

... wandered disconsolately along the high road, dwelling on his bad luck, he saw a fine carriage coming toward him, its occupant no less a personage than the King himself. The old man made an obeisance so low that the King was amused, and threw him ...
— Legends & Romances of Brittany • Lewis Spence

... entered, the courteous Governor handed his lady to a seat on the sofa; and Master Mather made a dignified obeisance. ...
— Dulcibel - A Tale of Old Salem • Henry Peterson

... Thy virgin womb in wondrous sort shall shroud Jesus the God; (and then again he bowed) Conception the great Spirit shall breathe on thee: Hail thou! who must God's wife, God's mother be.' With that his seeming form to heaven he reared, (She low obeisance made) and disappeared. Lo! a new star three Eastern sages see; (For why should only earth a gainer be?) They saw this Phosphor's infant light, and knew It bravely ushered in a sun as new; They hasted all this rising sun t' adore; With them ...
— Specimens with Memoirs of the Less-known British Poets, Complete • George Gilfillan

... I saw that it was an old woman grey haired, uncomely of raiment, but with shining bright eyes in her wrinkled face. And she made an obeisance to me and said: 'I was passing through this lonely wilderness and I looked down into the little valley and saw these goats there and the lovely lady lying naked amongst them, and I said I am too old ...
— The Well at the World's End • William Morris

... with the jug returned and they made an end of washing Don Quixote, and the one who carried the towels very deliberately wiped him and dried him; and all four together making him a profound obeisance and curtsey, they were about to go, when the duke, lest Don Quixote should see through the joke, called out to the one with the basin saying, "Come and wash me, and take care that there is water enough." The girl, sharp-witted and prompt, came ...
— Don Quixote • Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

... wagon came up John and the Professor marched up, and the latter approached with the deference of a courtier, and John, noting the attitude of the Professor, made a like obeisance, and this act, so gracefully performed, was such a wonderful and startling thing that the boys were completely stunned. After making a show of welcome to the Professor, they walked over to John and offered him a welcome that was ...
— The Wonder Island Boys: The Tribesmen • Roger Finlay

... Ferdinand Morales would never wed one whose birth or lineage would tarnish his pure Castilian blood, or endanger the holy faith of which he was so true a member. A red flush might have stained the cheek of the warrior at these words, but the deep obeisance with which he had departed from the royal presence concealed the unwonted emotion. Ere a year from that time elapsed, not only the ancient city of Segovia, where his large estates lay, but all Castile were thrown into a most unusual ...
— The Vale of Cedars • Grace Aguilar

... of inexpressible relief that he at last understood that he was being dismissed. Steadying his limbs as best he could, he rose from his couch and made obeisance before the Caesar. Then almost mechanically and like one in a dream, but holding himself erect and composed, he walked backwards ...
— "Unto Caesar" • Baroness Emmuska Orczy

... replied Jason, with an obeisance—for Chiron had taught him how to behave with propriety, whether to kings or beggars—"I have come hither with a purpose which I now beg your majesty's permission to execute. King Pelias, who sits on my father's ...
— Famous Tales of Fact and Fancy - Myths and Legends of the Nations of the World Retold for Boys and Girls • Various

... they set out for Trianon in spite of the recollections of the storm which had dispersed the spectators at the fete of Saint Cloud. Nevertheless, at three o'clock a heavy shower made every one fear for a short while that the evening might end badly. "Afternoon shower making its obeisance," as the proverb says; but, on the contrary, this only made the fete pleasanter, by refreshing the scorching air of August, and laying the dust which was most disagreeable. At six o'clock the ...
— The Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte • Bourrienne, Constant, and Stewarton

... replied the Grand Vizier, while he made his obeisance. "But if it were permitted I might say that your Highness looks even more handsome as a stork than as a Caliph. But come, if it please you, let us listen to our comrades yonder, and find out whether we really understand the ...
— Tales of Wonder Every Child Should Know • Various

... and other Castles which were in his possession, and he himself abode in Valencia. And now he went out to Yahia to give unto him the keys of the city, and the good men of the city went out with him, and they made obeisance to him and promised to serve him loyally. Then Yahia, the grandson of Alimaymon, set forth with all his company from Sera, and all the people of Valencia, high and low, went out to meet him with great rejoicings. And Aboeza adorned the Alcazar right nobly, that Yahia ...
— Chronicle Of The Cid • Various

... accustomed to the homage of men that one who failed to make instant and humble obeisance to her proved himself to be either a very vulgar person or else a miracle. Such folk were few, for the average man bends as readily to beauty as a flower sways to the wind, or the sea to the touch ...
— Here are Ladies • James Stephens

... the king face to face, who had never even been inside any of the royal palaces, was, nevertheless, calm and cool as usual. The splendor of the throne room and the crowd of officers and counselors did not in the least affright him. He made a low obeisance to his king and waited for ...
— Stories of the Prophets - (Before the Exile) • Isaac Landman

... imperceptible signal of his hand, whereat Sir Alexander Livingston, seeing the girl about to leave the chamber of council, courteously rose to usher her out. And with the very slightest acknowledgment of his profound obeisance, Sybilla de Thouars went forth and left the four men to their cabal of treachery ...
— The Black Douglas • S. R. Crockett

... their business. Having made their fortune, they are content to gape or to indulge in sensual pleasures or childish amusements, cards or dice; or they will talk in the dullest way, or dress up and make obeisance to one another. And how few are those who have even a little superfluity of intellectual power! Like the others they too make themselves a pleasure; but it is a pleasure of the intellect. Either they will pursue some liberal study which brings them in nothing, or they will practice some art; ...
— The Art of Literature • Arthur Schopenhauer

... not For Sovereign Assemblement the like In the Folding of the Records of the World. No armed Host, nor Captain of a Host, From all the Quarters of the World, but there; Of whom not one but to Salaman did Obeisance, and lifted up his Neck To yoke it under his Supremacy. Then The Shah crown'd him with the Golden Crown, And set the Golden Throne beneath his Feet. And over all the Heads of the Assembly, And in the Ears of all of them, his Jewels With the Diamond ...
— Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Salaman and Absal • Omar Khayyam and Ralph Waldo Emerson

... hands together in a posture of prayer. Then the reverend man stood up behind him, razor in hand, and, intoning a hymn, gave two or three strokes of the razor, which he then handed to his acolyte, who made a clean shave of Tokutaro's hair. When the latter had finished his obeisance to the priest, and the ceremony was over, there was a loud burst of laughter; and at the same moment the day broke, and Tokutaro found himself alone, in the middle of a large moor. At first, in his surprise, he ...
— Tales of Old Japan • Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford

... had a wide mouth, the lips and the chin cut like any statue’s; and the smile came out for a moment and was gone. Then she stood with her head bent, and heard Case to an end, spoke back in the pretty Polynesian voice, looking him full in the face, heard him again in answer, and then with an obeisance started off. I had just a share of the bow, but never another shot of her eye, and there was ...
— Island Nights' Entertainments • Robert Louis Stevenson

... he. "I could have told them you was the lady, but they would not let a poor fellow get a word in edgeways." He retired with an obeisance. ...
— A Perilous Secret • Charles Reade

... were also profusely decorated with diamonds. So his Highness advanced up the hall, wearing his grey beaver hat, from which drooped a stately plume of black herons' feathers, fastened with an aigrette of diamonds. This he did not remove, as was customary, until all present had made their obeisance and deferentially kissed his hand. Duke Francis followed in his episcopal robes, with a mitre upon his head, and a bishop's crook of ivory in his hand. The other young dukes, Ulrich, George, and Bogislaus, remained ...
— Sidonia The Sorceress V2 • William Mienhold

... left the great hall Hymbercourt, Max, and I approached the duke. Hymbercourt and I made obeisance on bended knee, but Max saluted the duke with a low bow. After the duke ...
— Yolanda: Maid of Burgundy • Charles Major

... their baskets and made humble obeisance. Satan made humble obeisance, too, with his fingers to his forehead, in the ...
— The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories • Mark Twain

... Rosings the next morning, and Mr. Collins having been in waiting near the lodges, to make them his parting obeisance, was able to bring home the pleasing intelligence, of their appearing in very good health, and in as tolerable spirits as could be expected, after the melancholy scene so lately gone through at Rosings. To Rosings he then hastened, to console Lady ...
— Persuasion • Jane Austen

... the railway line we made our obeisance to the German customs authorities, saluted the black and white barber's-pole stripes of the frontier post, and filled up our tanks with gasoline, which had now assumed the name of benzin, instead ...
— The Automobilist Abroad • M. F. (Milburg Francisco) Mansfield

... the doctor, she passed Baron Tripeaud by without looking at him, and saluted the princess with stately obeisance, in ...
— The Wandering Jew, Complete • Eugene Sue

... to Sabbath. Grand old Noah Webster, standing in the doorway of his modest home on our road from school to church, was, to me, an embodiment of the spelling-book and dictionary, and I instinctively made obeisance to him as we ...
— 'Three Score Years and Ten' - Life-Long Memories of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and Other - Parts of the West • Charlotte Ouisconsin Van Cleve

... Mohar had given the reins into the hand of a servant, he sprang from his chariot, and after the usual form of obeisance said to the princess: ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers

... the star, in the stone, in the flesh, in the soul and the clod. And thus looking within and around me, I ever renew (With that stoop of the soul which in bending upraises it too) The submission of man's nothing-perfect to God's all-complete, As by each new obeisance in spirit, I climb to his feet. Yet with all this abounding experience, this deity known, I shall dare to discover some province, some gift of my own. There's a faculty pleasant to exercise, hard ...
— Robert Browning: How To Know Him • William Lyon Phelps

... a little. The pirates were endeavoring to quit the snow. And presently Rackham appeared to change his own purpose. No longer ignoring the King George, he doffed his hat in a graceful flourish and bowed with a mocking obeisance. Then he strolled to the cabin hatch and went below, presumably to get a change of clothing or something of the sort. But he failed to reappear and his men were in a frenzy of haste, with one ...
— Blackbeard: Buccaneer • Ralph D. Paine

... pretended Fatima had made her obeisance, the princess said, "My good mother, I have one thing to request, which you must not refuse me; it is, to stay with me, that you may edify me with your way of living, and that I may learn from your good example." "Princess," said the counterfeit Fatima, ...
— Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know • Various

... flung the shutter, when, with a prodigious flutter, In there stepped a bumptious Raven, black as any blackamoor. Not the least obeisance made he, not a moment stopped or stayed he, But with scornful look, though shady, perched above my Office-door, Perched upon BRITANNIA's bust that stood above my Office-door— Perched, and sat, and seemed ...
— Punch, or The London Charivari, Volume 101, October 31, 1891 • Various

... walls, you see misshapen stones which are regarded as sacred. As you proceed you find yourself accompanied by a crowd who have bathed, and who are going to complete their morning worship by acts of obeisance to their gods. They are seen, as they walk, bowing their heads and folding their hands before the sacred objects that line their way. Every now and then one of a party will raise the shout "Mahadeo jee kee jae!"—("Victory to the Great God"), that is to Shiva, to whom this title is given; ...
— Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877 • James Kennedy

... is about to start off hunting, it is very lucky for him to dream of meeting a god in the mountains, to whom he gives presents, and to whom he makes obeisance. After such a dream, he is certain to ...
— Aino Folk-Tales • Basil Hall Chamberlain

... thus sauntering he met a hermit, whose white and venerable beard hung down to his girdle. He held a book in his hand, which he read with great attention. Zadig stopped, and made him a profound obeisance. The hermit returned the compliment with such a noble and engaging air, that Zadig had the curiosity to enter into conversation with him. He asked him what book it was that he had been reading? "It is the Book of Destinies," said the hermit; "wouldst ...
— Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories • Edited by Julian Hawthorne

... politicians. It declared that the Union was suffering from timid counsels and mistaken deference to rebel slavery; that all attempts to put down rebellion and save slavery are preposterous and futile; and that every hour of obeisance to slavery is an added hour of deepened peril to the Union. In conclusion, he entreated the Chief Executive to render hearty and unequivocal obedience to the law ...
— A Political History of the State of New York, Volumes 1-3 • DeAlva Stanwood Alexander

... whilest your promise, whereby you put vs in good comfort, did make vs more cheerefull and resolute, in managing the affaires of our kingdome. We reioyced (I say) & in our secret cogitations did humble obeisance vnto your Maiestie, giuing you at this time to vnderstand from the sincere & vnfained affection of our heart, that whatsoeuer we shal know to tend vnto your honour, we are, to our power most ready to put in practise. Our kingdome, ...
— The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries - of the English Nation, v. 1, Northern Europe • Richard Hakluyt

... "a most touching tenderness, blended with dignity, in her air and tone, as, seated in the desk, she looked round upon her fallen sisters, and begun: 'To me the pleasant office has been given, of 'wishing you a happy Christmas.' A simultaneous movement of obeisance rippled over the audience, with a murmured 'Thank you;' and a smile was spread upon those sad countenances, like sunrise sparkling on a pool." A few words from this discourse,—which was extemporaneous, but of which she afterward made an imperfect ...
— Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli, Vol. II • Margaret Fuller Ossoli

... descriptions he had heard from ambassadors to the English Court of what the English King was like; and forgetful of everything else, all courtly custom, his secret mission, and his assumed character, Francis made a slight obeisance and stepped forward eagerly to ...
— The King's Esquires - The Jewel of France • George Manville Fenn

... sir," Niloiya sighed, "I following, and I knew not anything Till, the young lamb asleep in thy two arms, We, moving up among the silent hills, Paused in a grove to rest; and many slaves Came near to make obeisance, and to bring Wood for the sacrifice, and turf and fire. Then in their hearing thou didst say to me, 'Behold, I know thy good fidelity, And theirs that are about us; they would guard The mountain passes, if it were my will Awhile to leave thee'; and the pygmies ...
— Poems by Jean Ingelow, In Two Volumes, Volume II. • Jean Ingelow

... here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore. Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door— Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door— Perched, and ...
— The Golden Treasury of American Songs and Lyrics • Various

... useful reflections were putting me on my guard, a little, spare, grey-eyed, high-cheekboned, long-headed man, forced his way through the crowd, and tottering into the central space occupied by ourselves, took off his felt hat, and making a profound obeisance remained, with extreme courtesy, uncovered; ...
— A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden - 2nd edition • W. A. Ross

... and wonder I asked him "Who are you?" "I am Arjuna," he said, "of the great Kuru clan." I stood petrified like a statue, and forgot to do him obeisance. Was this indeed Arjuna, the one great idol of my dreams! Yes, I had long ago heard how he had vowed a twelve-years' celibacy. Many a day my young ambition had spurred me on to break my lance with him, to challenge him in disguise to single combat, and prove my skill in arms against him. Ah, foolish ...
— Chitra - A Play in One Act • Rabindranath Tagore

... moment, as if unbelieving, and then, as though satisfied, made obeisance like a fellow well used to ceremonial. "I trust my lord, in his infinite strength, will pardon my sin in not knowing him by his nobleness before. But truth to tell, I had looked to see my lord ...
— The Lost Continent • C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne

... in"; and, after spending her entire day in this idle way, at last the squire made his appearance, and Judy presented her son, who kept scraping his foot, and pulling his forelock, that stuck out like a piece of ragged thatch from his forehead, making his obeisance to the squire, while his mother was sounding his praises for being the "handiest craythur alive, and so ...
— Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17) - Folk-Lore, Fables, And Fairy Tales • Various

... the close of the service. A conch is blown, a bell is rung, and a gong beaten at the time of worship, when the religiously disposed portion of the inmates, male and female, in a quasi-penitent attitude, make their obeisance to the god and receive in return the ...
— India, Its Life and Thought • John P. Jones

... both disputants hung back. The woman—an old crone, with a face like a carved nutcracker—dropped an obeisance and stood with her eyes fixed on the ground. The man shifted his weight from foot to foot while he glanced furtively from one to the other of us. I recognised him for Ambialet's only baker, a black-avised fellow on the youthful side of forty. Clearly, the grave dignity of Pere Philibert ...
— Merry-Garden and Other Stories • Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

... gratifying the spleen of the moment at the expense of a woman, who was obliged to submit to their discourtesy. Of all the guests Mdlle. Selpdorf alone stood erect, forgetting, in her indignation, to join in the general obeisance. The Grand Duke, looking up, found her flushed and flashing, and superlatively handsome. His flabby cheeks twitched, and ...
— A Modern Mercenary • Kate Prichard and Hesketh Vernon Hesketh-Prichard

... and mistress of the house accordingly sat side by side on a large fauteuil, and each guest as he arrived walked up to receive their welcome. The musicians and dancers hired for the occasion also did obeisance to them, before they began their part. To the leg of the fauteuil was tied a favorite monkey, a dog, a gazelle, or some other pet; and a young child was permitted to sit on the ground at the side of its mother, or on its ...
— Museum of Antiquity - A Description of Ancient Life • L. W. Yaggy

... descent and alliance, irritable with effeminate delicacy and personal vanity, a little circumstance, almost too minute to be recorded, inflicted such an injury on his pride, that in his mind it required years of absence from the court of England ere it could be forgotten. Once making a low obeisance to the queen, before the whole court, this stately and inflated peer suffered a mischance, which has happened, it is said, on a like occasion—it was "light as air!" But this accident so sensibly hurt his mawkish ...
— Curiosities of Literature, Vol. II (of 3) - Edited, With Memoir And Notes, By His Son, The Earl Of Beaconsfield • Isaac D'Israeli

... it was done. Then Izza spake Unto the guards and said, "Go! Bring thee now From out the city wall a child to make Its first obeisance to the King. ...
— Successful Recitations • Various

... obeisance and withdrew, and worked for two months at the Lord Chief Justice's cup. In two months' time it was finished, and the world has never seen such a beautiful cup, so perfect in symmetry, so delicate in texture, and the rose on it, the blue rose, was a living flower, ...
— The Art of the Story-Teller • Marie L. Shedlock

... their ship. They ran and told the King the news, and as the grand terrace of the Palace looked out upon the sea-shore, he speedily repaired thither. The Princes, hearing the people say, "There is the King," looked up, and made a profound obeisance. He looked earnestly at them, and was as much charmed by the Princess's beauty, as by the handsome mien of the young Princes. He ordered his equerry to offer them his protection, and everything that ...
— The Frog Prince and Other Stories - The Frog Prince, Princess Belle-Etoile, Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp • Anonymous

... sin of another, and though guiltless be punished for the crime of the guilty. For they saw that, now the derision of their great god was brought to light, those whom they had lured to proffer them divine honours were exchanging obeisance for scorn and worship for shame; that holy rites were being accounted sacrilege, and fixed and regular ceremonies deemed so much childish raving. Fear was in their souls, death before their eyes, and one would have supposed that the fault of one was visited ...
— The Danish History, Books I-IX • Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Learned")

... vestiments, and rejoicing, in that they bare garlands and flowers upon their heads, bedspread the waies with hearbes, which they bare in their aprons, where this regall and devout procession should passe: Other caried glasses on their backes, to testifie obeisance to the goddess which came after. Other bare combs of Ivory, and declared by their gesture and motions of their armes, that they were ordained and readie to dresse the goddesse: Others dropped in the wayes as they went Balme and other pretious ointments: Then came a great ...
— The Golden Asse • Lucius Apuleius

... the little fellow, repeating his scornful obeisance, hobbled away. He was heard to strike up a lively air, and some of the guests, whose curiosity took them out of doors, averred that he cut across the fields with supernatural swiftness, whilst there glittered around him ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Vol. 56, No. 346, August, 1844 • Various

... replied: "My dear daughter, I have never refused to grant any one of your wishes, and in this matter too you are free to do as you will." When the Princess Drushnevna heard these words, she thanked her father, made her obeisance, and went out. Then she ordered Bova to be called and desired him to leave his old task and to enter on his ...
— The Russian Garland - being Russian Falk Tales • Various

... The four in the master room froze into immobility. Two Mercutian guards stumbled panting into the room. They came to a jerking halt, threw themselves prone upon the floor, arms outstretched in obeisance. ...
— Slaves of Mercury • Nat Schachner

... Preanger character, and the crouching obeisance known as the dodok, formerly insisted upon, is still observed by the native to his European masters, the humble posture giving place to kneeling on a nearer approach. The kind proprietor of the Soekaboemi Hotel offers every facility to those guests anxious to penetrate below the ...
— Through the Malay Archipelago • Emily Richings

... entranced before the spectacle, chanting to himself a kind of insane ritual, like a Parsee fire-worshiper making obeisance before his god. He was rapt away to some plane of mystic exaltation, to some hinterland of the soul that merged upon madness. When at length the boat crunched upon the sandy shore he got up unsteadily from ...
— The Best Short Stories of 1920 - and the Yearbook of the American Short Story • Various

... lastly the oldest again. If they hit upon the right name, the steward leads the person back again; but, if they do not, he takes off the winnow-sheet, and the person receives a threepence, makes a low obeisance to the judges, but speaks not a word. When the second servant was brought, the younger judge guessed first and third; and this they did alternately, till all the money was given away. Whatever servant had not slept in the ...
— Christmas: Its Origin and Associations - Together with Its Historical Events and Festive Celebrations During Nineteen Centuries • William Francis Dawson

... carcasses into his insatiable paunch, he caused his subjects to be called together, and moved from the altar to a terrific throne of exceeding height, to pronounce judgment on the prisoners newly arrived. In an instant came innumerable multitudes of the dead, making their obeisance to their king, and taking their stations in remarkable order. And lo! king Death was in his regal vest of flaming scarlet, covered all over with figures of women and children weeping, and men uttering groans; about his head was a black-red three-cornered cap (which ...
— The Sleeping Bard - or, Visions of the World, Death, and Hell • Ellis Wynne

... indescribable. The river tossed everything before it. I saw the red head go down with the last remnants of the jam and disappear between the great grinding tree- trunks. It rose close to the bank and blowing like a grampus. Namgay Doola wrung the water out of his eyes and made obeisance to the King. I had time to observe him closely. The virulent redness of his shock head and beard was most startling; and in the thicket of hair wrinkled above high cheek bones shone two very merry blue eyes. He was indeed an outlander, but yet a Thibetan in language, habit, ...
— Life's Handicap • Rudyard Kipling

... Mr. Zebedee was shaking hands with the Doctor, and welcoming him to his house, the other two silently withdrew, making respectful obeisance. ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 3, No. 18, April, 1859 - [Date last updated: August 7, 2005] • Various

... that He was stepping back, to go to Him with whom He realized His identity. He looked on through the coming weeks, and knew that the Father had given all things into His hands. What the devil had offered as the price of obeisance to himself, that the Father was about to give Him, nay, had already given Him, as the price of His self-emptying. And if for a moment He stooped, as we shall see He did, to the form of a servant, it was not because of any failure to recognize His high dignity and mission, but with ...
— Love to the Uttermost - Expositions of John XIII.-XXI. • F. B. Meyer

... Carbo comes, Footing it featly like a mighty man. What, no obeisance, sirrah, to ...
— A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. VII (4th edition) • Various

... your looks are known; You wish to learn the names of those behind Who through the vale in long procession wind: I grant your prayer, if fate allows a space," He said, "their fortunes, as they come, to trace.— See that majestic shade that moves along, And claims obeisance from the ghostly throng: 'Tis Pompey; with the partner of his vows, Who mourns the fortunes of her slaughter'd spouse, By Egypt's servile band.—The next is he Whom Love's tyrannic spell forbade to see The danger by his cruel consort plann'd; Till Fate surprised him by her ...
— The Sonnets, Triumphs, and Other Poems of Petrarch • Petrarch

... made a deep obeisance, and murmured the words, "Koom Koom," which I afterwards discovered was their royal salute, corresponding to the Bayete of the Zulus, and turning, addressed his followers. These at once proceeded to lay hold of all our goods and chattels, in ...
— King Solomon's Mines • H. Rider Haggard

... you please, it is me," stammered Katy, making her obeisance, and feeling very mush confused, for it was the first time she had ever come into the presence of a great man, and she could not exactly tell whether she ought to get down on her knees, as she had read that people did when they approached a king, or ...
— Poor and Proud - or The Fortunes of Katy Redburn • Oliver Optic

... been sung, several of the girls laid down their banjos, and after obeisance prepared to dance. Instead of being a sprightly performance to, lively music, "first ae caper syne anither," Japanese dancing is a very stately and measured performance, the body instead of the feet being most brought into requisition. With ...
— Round the World • Andrew Carnegie

... of them a branch of olive, in token that they came as ambassadors and messengers from the Emperor Lucius, which was called at that time, Dictator or Procuror of the Public Weal of Rome. Which said messengers, after their entering and coming into the presence of King Arthur, did to him their obeisance in making to him reverence, and said to him in this wise: The high and mighty Emperor Lucius sendeth to the King of Britain greeting, commanding thee to acknowledge him for thy lord, and to send him the truage due of this realm unto the Empire, which thy father ...
— Le Morte D'Arthur, Volume I (of II) - King Arthur and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table • Thomas Malory

... uncovered. We are thus enabled to reconstitute the scene of the most solemn rite of the Babylonian festival of the New Year, when the statue of the god Marduk was carried in solemn procession along this road from the temple to the palace, and the Babylonian king made his yearly obeisance to the national god, placing his own hands within those of Marduk, in token of his submission to and dependence on ...
— History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, And Assyria In The Light Of Recent Discovery • L.W. King and H.R. Hall

... advanced towards our guests. As we drew nigh Mr. Petulengro took off his hat, and made a profound obeisance to Belle, whilst Mrs. Petulengro rose from the stool, and made a profound curtsey. Belle, who had flung her hair back over her shoulders, returned their salutations by bending her head, and after slightly glancing at Mr. Petulengro, ...
— The Romany Rye - A Sequel to 'Lavengro' • George Borrow

... did not know what she meant. Her strange obeisance made him feel awkward. He stood up because his training had told him that when a woman stands ...
— The Lost Prince • Frances Hodgson Burnett

... Williams Atkinson, with an eighteenth century obeisance, "Judge De Willoughby and I lived in open feud, but I am becoming interested in the De Willoughby claim also. I accept your invitation with pleasure." And they ...
— In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim • Frances Hodgson Burnett

... when they heard this were rejoiced and made obeisance: but when night had come on, the same dream again came and stood by Xerxes as he lay asleep and said: "Son of Dareios, it is manifest then that thou hast resigned this expedition before the assembly of the Persians, and that thou hast made no account of my words, as if thou hadst heard ...
— The History Of Herodotus - Volume 2 (of 2) • Herodotus

... descending rather slowly and very softly, as if her feet were thinking. She checked herself for an infinitesimal moment, then moved on again. Donal stood with bended head as she passed. If she acknowledged his obeisance it was with the slightest return, but she lifted her eyes to his face with a look that seemed to have in it a strange wistful trouble—not very marked, yet notable. She passed on and vanished, leaving that look a lingering presence in Donal's thought. What was it? Was it anything? What could ...
— Donal Grant • George MacDonald

... occasionally throw himself upon it, carefully pointing out each time the pretty significance of his act. Behind the Bosom was a large and weighty desk covered with a multitude of personal letters, belonging for the most part to Mrs. Norris, a cheque-book open and face down in mute obeisance to the blotter, newspaper clippings, spectacle cases, scissors, and ash trays. In a neighbouring corner stood a table with imperfectly stacked current magazines, a work basket filled with knitting, and a lamp crowned by a broad shade of silk with threads ...
— Tutors' Lane • Wilmarth Lewis

... counsel.' On December 26, 1337, they came to the house of the said James van Artevelde, and found him leaning against his door. Far off as they were when they first perceived him, they made him a deep obeisance, and 'Dear sir,' they said, 'we are come to you for counsel; for we are told that by your great and good sense you will restore the country of Flanders to good ...
— The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 07 • Various

... chair, and you and I will say: 'Good-morning, dear lady. Let us introduce to you "our new possessions," our spoils of travel, our souvenirs of a sea-voyage.' Then Duke and Mr. Winthrop will make a profound obeisance, ...
— Ladies-In-Waiting • Kate Douglas Wiggin

... obeisance, and stands with noble bearing between the two thrones, facing the spectators. ...
— Turandot, Princess of China - A Chinoiserie in Three Acts • Karl Gustav Vollmoeller

... woman rose mechanically, and made a slight obeisance as she saw Agatha's commanding figure, and then reseating herself, hastily recommenced her work, as though she had forgotten herself, in having been thus ...
— La Vendee • Anthony Trollope

... Empress received the Queen affectionately and gave her a bouquet, which she carried in her hand. I saw Nina's pale face, pinched with pain, in the distance, and longed to fly to her, but etiquette compelled me to stay to make my obeisance to their Majesties. The band which was in the station struck up the Royal Danish March, and we could hardly hear ourselves speak on account of the tremendous resonance. The procession of resplendent uniforms and the bright colors of the ladies' ...
— The Sunny Side of Diplomatic Life, 1875-1912 • Lillie DeHegermann-Lindencrone

... they recognized in him a nameless something that declared and asserted itself—something that vaguely hinted of the sheaf of the boy Joseph, that arose and stood upright, and to which their sheaves involuntarily did obeisance. ...
— Bart Ridgeley - A Story of Northern Ohio • A. G. Riddle

... temple and burned some joss-sticks; after which the Superior made him a low obeisance and begged him to come and rest himself for a moment in the reception hall. Tea was served. Then, concealing his true ...
— Eastern Shame Girl • Charles Georges Souli

... stall, but nearer to it than that allotted to the other officers; and, lastly, Henry himself, with the sword borne before him by the Duke of Richmond, who as he approached the steps of his stall bowed reverently towards the altar, and made another obeisance before seating himself. ...
— Windsor Castle • William Harrison Ainsworth

... told it to his brethren; and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, the dream which I have dreamed; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo! my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round abort, and made obeisance to my sheaf." ...
— The Infant System - For Developing the Intellectual and Moral Powers of all Children, - from One to Seven years of Age • Samuel Wilderspin

... rose; and, before he took the little wooden drinking-cup, bowed to her, raising his cap with a grave, courteous obeisance; a bow that had used to be noted in throne-rooms ...
— Under Two Flags • Ouida [Louise de la Ramee]

... president, soon after his inauguration, he and Mrs. Washington were seated in state upon a raised sofa at the head of the room; that each gentleman, when going to dance, led his partner to the foot of the sofa and made a low bow, and that when the dance was over, he again took his partner to make obeisance to the president and his lady before ...
— Washington and the American Republic, Vol. 3. • Benson J. Lossing

... up to the place and neighed; and just when the horse had done this, there came lightning and thunder from a clear sky: and the happening of these things to Dareios consummated his claim, for they seemed to have come to pass by some design, and the others leapt down from their horses and did obeisance to Dareios. ...
— The History Of Herodotus - Volume 1(of 2) • Herodotus

... at Cherbourg and later at Queenstown she was again the object of a port ovation, the smaller craft doing obeisance while thousands gazed in wonder at her stupendous proportions. After taking aboard some additional passengers at each port, the Titanic headed her towering bow toward the open sea and the race for a record on her maiden voyage ...
— Sinking of the Titanic - and Great Sea Disasters • Various

... at Blackfriars sat on the 28th of May, 1529. "The queen being called, accompanied by the four bishops and others of her counsel, and a great company of ladies and gentlewomen following her; and after her obeisance, sadly and with great gravity, she appealed from them to the court of Rome."—See Hall and ...
— Characteristics of Women - Moral, Poetical, and Historical • Anna Jameson

... closed the door, and again looked up at the window. The fair girl made her appearance, and Philip, with a low obeisance, assured her that there ...
— The Phantom Ship • Captain Frederick Marryat

... developed in a single day. But for that little pucker of vexation on Sir Tom's forehead they would have looked like a father and daughter, the father proudly bringing his young princess into the circle of her adorers. Bice swept him towards Lucy, and made a low obeisance to Lady Randolph, and took her hand and kissed it. "I must come ...
— Sir Tom • Mrs. Oliphant

... made his best obeisance. He had been wondering, with his eyes fixed on the magistrates' powder, whether all boards were born with that white stuff on their heads, and were boards from ...
— Oliver Twist • Charles Dickens

... dismounted and walked past the image, saluting it with right hands raised. Many of them tossed coins to the priest's attendant slave. Sextus remained in the saddle, his brow clouded with an angry scowl. He drew rein, making no obeisance, but sent Scylax to present an offering of money to ...
— Caesar Dies • Talbot Mundy

... her cheeks. I suspected her complexion of potations, but charitably let it off with—beer; for she was, at first glance, English. As she jerked off her flaunting bonnet, and dragged off her loud shawl, saluting me, as she did so, with an overdone obeisance, she said, "This San Fanfrisko"—why would she, how could she, always twist the decent name of the metropolis of the Pacific into such an absurd shape?—"was a norrid 'ole; she happealed to the gentleman,"—meaning me,—"didn't ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, Issue 11, September, 1858 • Various

... the slow horses whereon the King rideth not go behind lute and drum, then, as the King well knoweth, thou shalt go down to the great white house of Kings and, entering the portals where none are worthy to follow, shalt make obeisance alone to all the elder Kings of Zarkandhu, whose bones are seated upon golden thrones grasping their sceptres still. Therein thou shalt go with robes and sceptre through the marble porch, but thou shalt leave behind thee thy gleaming crown that others may wear ...
— Time and the Gods • Lord Dunsany [Edward J. M. D. Plunkett]

... that caution must be observed. Passing through several passages, he was at length led into a room where a lady of some forty years of age, surrounded by several slaves and younger women, was sitting. Cuthbert felt no scruple in making a deep obeisance to her; the respect shown to women in the days of chivalry was very great, and Cuthbert, in bowing almost to the ground before the lady who was really his mistress, did not feel that ...
— The Boy Knight • G.A. Henty

... Republican party, the dominant party in Philadelphia and in the State, under which they more easily controlled elections, for the people voted "regular." Then every one of the city's servants was made to pay to the Gas Ring money as well as obeisance. Tradespeople who sold supplies to the city, contractors who did its work, saloon-keepers and dive-owners who wanted protection—all paid. The city's debt increased at the rate of $3,000,000 a year, without ...
— The Boss and the Machine • Samuel P. Orth

... doth overcommend the wisdom of his slave," replied Ulamhala (for such was his name) in Syriac Greek, with a second deep obeisance. ...
— A Friend of Caesar - A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic. Time, 50-47 B.C. • William Stearns Davis

... the miniature after which he had been working, from a table near, handed it to her with a proud obeisance, and the same moment dashed a brushful of dark paint across the face ...
— The Marquis of Lossie • George MacDonald

... the presence of the king, the general made his obeisance according to the manner of the country, saying, that he was sent by the most mighty Queen of England, to compliment his majesty, and to treat with him concerning peace and amity with the queen his mistress, if it ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. VIII. • Robert Kerr



Words linked to "Obeisance" :   bowing, submission, salaam, disobedience, reverence, scrape, obedience, genuflection, compliance, bow, scraping, genuflexion, kotow, kowtow, motion, obey



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