Why this word is great
OBEISANCE — [Noun] A gesture of respect or submission, such as a deep bow, or the deferential attitude it expresses. From Middle English obeisaunce, from Old French obeïssance ("obedience"), from obeïssant ("obedient"), from obeïr ("to obey"), from Latin oboedire ("to obey, listen to"), from ob- ("to, for") + audire ("to hear"). Unlike obedience, which denotes the practical habit of following orders, or worship, which implies reverent devotion to the divine, obeisance is the physical theatre of hierarchy—the body’s silent grammar of deference. It is the stiff rustle of silk as a courtier sinks into a deep reverence, the supplicant’s forehead pressed to cool stone before a throne, and the crisp, practiced dip of a flag in ceremonial salute—a performed listening of the flesh that concedes power before a word is spoken, leaving only the ghost of a gesture repeated in an empty room.