to kiss hands
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To kiss the hand of the sovereign either on accepting or retiring from office.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to kiss hands” mean?
To kiss the hand of the sovereign either on accepting or retiring from office.
Is “to kiss hands” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.