In European history bowing was common at royal courts. Men were expected to "bow and scrape". This meant bowing and at the same time drawing back the right leg so that it scraped the floor. The man would hold his left hand over his waist while doing this. This is why we still talk about "bowing and scraping" meaning that someone is trying very hard and hypocritically to be unnecessarily polite. This kind of deep bow, which is never used nowadays, is sometimes called a “reverence” (a word meaning: “deep respect”).