Oh the research we do*. (And this is why I donate to Wikipedia)
It was also a gesture of formal submission or pledge of allegiance of man to man or as a diplomatic gesture. The gesture would indicate submission by kissing the signet ring (a form of seal worn as a jewelry ring), the person’s symbol of authority. The gesture was common in the European upper class throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. It started to disappear in the 20th century, to be replaced by the egalitarian hand shake.
but wait there’s more! At the bottom of this page it lists all SORTS of things you might do to show something towards another person:
Friendly gestures: A-OK Air kiss Applause Cheek kiss Dap Elbow bump Eskimo kiss Fist bump Hand heart Handshake Hand wave Hat tip High five Hongi ILY sign Kiss Liberian snap handshake Namaste Pound hug Shaka Thumbs signal
Gestures of respect: Adab Bow Curtsey Gadaw Genuflection Hand-kiss Kowtow Kuji-in Mano Mudra Namaste Prostration Sampeah Sembah Schwurhand Wai Zolgokh
Salutes: Bellamy salute Nazi salute Raised fist Roman salute Scout sign and salute Three-finger salute Two-finger salute Vulcan salute Zogist salute
Celebratory gestures …
* In an on-going NYTimes review of this season’s Downton Abbey, there were various tidbits of information categorized under repeated headings and the one I like best and plan to adapt is “I Google so you don’t have to:
I Google so you don’t have to: Mr. Wackford Squeers, the villainous one-eyed headmaster in Dickens’s “Nicholas Nickleby.” (And if Bertie’s mum is such a fright, maybe Edith is better off in the long run?)
Department of other stuff:
except I think I’ll do “I wiki so you don’t have to” or whatever is needed.
This indeed important info to be able to look up. I think I said to Dawn yesterday. I love how you can found any info you want on the computer. But you do have to know how to go about it.