Editing Greeting (section)

==Greeting gestures==
[[File:Secretary General of NATO Luns tips his hat as a troop review 1983.jpg|thumb|left|The civilian [[Secretary General of NATO]] [[Joseph Luns]] from the [[Netherlands]] [[Hat tip|tips his hat]] at a troop review in 1983, in lieu of a military salute. This (the full gesture is shown here) was by then becoming old-fashioned as a general social greeting, but had once been normal.]] 
A greeting can consist of an exchange of formal expression, kisses, handshakes, hugs, and various gestures. The form of greeting is determined by social etiquette, as well as by the relationship of the people.

The formal greeting may involve a verbal acknowledgment and sometimes a handshake, but beyond that, facial expression, gestures, body language, and eye contact can all signal what type of greeting is expected.<ref>Salmani Nodoushan, M. A. (2006). Greetings forms in English and Persian: A sociopragmatic perspective. International Journal of Language, Culture, and Society, 17. online.</ref> Gestures are the most obvious signal, for instance, greeting someone with open arms is generally a sign that a hug is expected.<ref>{{cite web|author=George Boeree |url=http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/personpercept.html |title=personpercept.html |publisher=Webspace.ship.edu |access-date=2011-01-27}}</ref> However, crossing arms can be interpreted as a sign of hostility. The facial expression, body language, and eye contact reflect emotions and interest level. A frown, slouching and lowered eye contact suggests disinterest, while smiling and an exuberant attitude is a sign of welcome.

Many different gestures are used throughout the world as simple greetings.  In Western cultures, the [[handshake]] is very common, though it has numerous subtle variations in the strength of grip, the vigour of the shake, the dominant position of one hand over the other, and whether or not the left hand is used.

Historically, when men normally wore hats out of doors, male greetings to people they knew, and sometimes those they did not, involved touching, raising slightly ("tipping"), or removing their hat in a variety of gestures.  This basic gesture remained normal in very many situations from the Middle Ages until men typically ceased wearing hats in the mid-20th century. Hat-raising began with an element of recognition of superiority, where only the socially inferior party might perform it, but gradually lost this element; King [[Louis XIV of France]] made a point of at least touching his hat to all women he encountered.  However, the gesture was never used by women, for whom their head-covering included considerations of modesty.  When a man was not wearing a hat he might touch his hair to the side of the front of his head to replicate a hat-tipping gesture.  This was typically performed by lower classmen to social superiors, such as peasants to the land-owner, and is known as "tugging the forelock", which still sometimes occurs as a metaphor for submissive behaviour.

The Arabic term ''[[S-L-M|salaam]]'' (literally "peace", from the spoken greeting that accompanies the gesture), refers to the practice of placing the right palm on the heart, before and after a handshake.

In Moroccan society, same-sex people do not greet each other the same as do opposite sex. While same-sex people (men or women) will shake hands, kiss on the cheek and even hug multiple times, a man and woman greeting each other in public will not go further than a handshake. This is due to Moroccan culture being conservative. Verbal greetings in Morocco can go from a basic [[Š-L-M|salaam]], to asking about life details to make sure the other person is doing well.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://moroccanzest.com/morocco-culture-and-religion-facts/|title=Real, Charming and Strange Secrets of the Moroccan Culture|date=2018-08-20|work=Moroccanzest|access-date=2018-11-19|language=en-US}}</ref> In the kingdom of Morocco, the greeting should always be made with the right hand, as the left hand is traditionally considered unclean.

[[File:03.05 總統接見美國在臺協會(AIT)主席莫健.jpg|thumb|Chinese greeting ([[Fist-and-palm]]) practised by [[Tsai Ing-wen]], [[President of the Republic of China|President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)]]]]
The most common Chinese greeting, ''[[Fist-and-palm|Gongshou]]'', features the right fist placed in the palm of the left hand and both shaken back and forth two or three times, it may be accompanied by a head nod or bow. The gesture may be used on meeting and parting, and when congratulating, thanking, or apologizing. 
[[File:An Oberoi Hotel employee doing Namaste, New Delhi.jpg|thumb|''[[Namaste]]'' greeting – a common cultural practice in India]]
In India, it is common to see the [[Namaste]] greeting (or "Sat Sri Akal" for [[Sikhs]]) where the palms of the hands are pressed together and held near the heart with the head gently bowed.

Among Christians in certain parts of the world such as [[Poland]], the greeting phrase "[[Praise the Lord (greeting)|Praise the Lord]]" has had common usage, especially in the pre-[[World War II]] era.<ref>{{cite book |title=Essays in Colorado History, Issues 5-10 |date=1987 |publisher=Colorado Historical Society |page=101 |language=English |quote="Niech będzie pochwalony Jezus Chrystus” in Polish, a common verbal and written greeting among the Polish peasantry.}}</ref><ref name="BrendelJakóbczyk1998">{{cite book |last1=Brendel |first1=Jànos |last2=Jakóbczyk |first2=Stanisław |title=Culture of the time of transformation: international congress: materials, Poznań, 2-5 February 1994 |date=1998 |publisher=WiS Publishers |isbn=978-83-87346-60-7 |page=132 |language=English |quote=In prewar Poland , especially in the countryside , one would often hear the traditional “Praise the Lord !” (“Niech będzie pochwalony”). ... this greeting was part of a ritual intended to initiate small talk or perhaps an invitation to share a pitcher of milk and a more extended conversation.}}</ref><ref name="Silverman2000">{{cite book |last1=Silverman |first1=Deborah Anders |title=Polish-American Folklore |date=2000 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |isbn=978-0-252-02569-3 |page=94 |language=English |quote=Another informant whose family used the "niece bedzie Pochwalony Jezuz Chrystus" greeting told me it was given because it was customary to do so. "The [people] had respect for the Lord. They were Christians, you know, and they'd come to your door, whether it was a man or a woman or what. ... But when that man came to the door, 'Niech bedzie pochwalony,' he'd always take his hat off."}}</ref>

[[Adab (gesture)|Adab]], meaning respect and politeness, is a hand gesture used as a secular greeting in South Asia, especially of Urdu-speaking communities of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Hyderabad]], and [[Bengal region|Bengal]] in India, as well as among the [[Muhajir (Urdu-speaking people)|Muhajir people]] of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 May 2012|title=Adaab in a Time of Allah Hafiz|url=https://insideislam.wisc.edu/2012/05/adaab-in-a-time-of-allah-hafiz/|access-date=2020-10-08|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]|language=English}}</ref> The gesture involves raising the right hand towards the face with palm inwards such that it is in front of the eyes and the fingertips are almost touching the forehead, as the upper torso is bent forward.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gambhir|first=Vijay|title=The Teaching and Acquisition of South Asian Languages|year=1996|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|isbn=0-8122-3328-X|pages=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mB7TQc_OpdcC&pg=PA87}}</ref> It is typical for the person to say "''adab arz hai''", or just "''adab''". It is often answered with the same or the word "''Tasleem''" is said as an answer or sometimes it is answered with a facial gesture of acceptance.

In Indonesia, a nation with a huge variety of cultures and religions, many greetings are expressed, from the formalized greeting of the highly stratified and hierarchical  [[Javanese people|Javanese]] to the more egalitarian and practical greetings of outer islands.

[[Javanese people|Javanese]], [[Batak (Indonesia)|Batak]] and other ethnicities currently or formerly involved in the armed forces will salute a government-employed superior, and follow with a deep bow from the waist or short nod of the head and a passing, loose handshake. Hand position is highly important; the superior's hand must be higher than the inferior's. Muslim men will clasp both hands, palms together at the chest and utter the correct Islamic ''slametan'' (greeting) phrase, which may be followed by cheek-to-cheek contact, a quick hug or loose handshake. Pious Muslim women rotate their hands from a vertical to the perpendicular prayer-like position in order to barely touch the fingertips of the male greeter and may opt-out of the cheek-to-cheek contact.

If the male is an ''Abdi Dalem'' royal servant, courtier or particularly "peko-peko" (taken directly from Japanese to mean obsequious) or even a highly formal individual, he will retreat backwards with head downcast, the left arm crossed against the chest and the right arm hanging down, never showing his side or back to his superior. His head must always be lower than that of his superior. Younger Muslim males and females will clasp their elder's or superior's outstretched hand to the forehead as a sign of respect and obeisance.

If a manual worker or a person with obviously dirty hands salute or greets an elder or superior, he will show deference to his superior and avoid contact by bowing, touching the right forehead in a very quick salute or a distant "slamet" gesture.

The traditional Javanese ''[[Sungkem]]'' involves clasping the palms of both hands together, aligning the thumbs with the nose, turning the head downwards and bowing deeply, bending from the knees. In a royal presence, the one performing ''sungkem'' would kneel at the base of the throne.

A gesture called a ''wai'' is used in Thailand, where the hands are placed together palm to palm, approximately at nose level, while bowing.  The ''wai'' is similar in form to the gesture referred to by the Japanese term ''[[Buddhist terms and concepts#G|gassho]]'' by Buddhists.  In Thailand, the men and women would usually press two palms together and bow a little while saying "Sawadee ka" (female speaker) or "Sawadee krap" (male speaker).

===Kisses===
[[File:Denis Thatcher Nancy Reagan 1988.jpg|thumb|[[Denis Thatcher]], husband of former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Margaret Thatcher]], greets former American [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Nancy Reagan]] by [[hand-kissing|kissing her hand]], 1988.]]
In Europe, the formal style of upper-class greeting used by a man to a woman in the [[Early Modern Period]] was to hold the woman's presented hand (usually the right) with his right hand and kiss it while bowing. In cases of a low degree of intimacy, the hand is held but not kissed. The ultra-formal style, with the man's right knee on the floor, is now only used in marriage proposals, as a romantic gesture.

[[Cheek kissing]] is common in Europe, parts of Canada (Quebec) and Latin America and has become a standard greeting mainly in Southern Europe but also in some Central European countries.

While cheek kissing is a common greeting in many cultures, each country has a unique way of kissing. In Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Iran and Egypt it is customary to "kiss three times, on alternate cheeks".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/hga/GAW97/greeting.html |title=Greetings Lesson |publisher=Hawaii.edu |access-date=2011-01-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604234558/http://www.hawaii.edu/hga/GAW97/greeting.html |archive-date=2011-06-04 }}</ref> Italians, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanians, Bosnia-and-Herzegovinans usually kiss twice in a greeting and in Mexico and Belgium only one kiss is necessary. In the Galapagos women kiss on the right cheek only<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.galapagosonline.com/predeparture/predeparture_information.htm |title=Galapagos FAQs Preparing for your trip |publisher=Galapagosonline.com |access-date=2011-01-27}}</ref> and in Oman, it is not unusual for men to kiss one another on the nose after a handshake.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brucevanpatter.com/world_greetings.html |title=Greetings in other cultures |publisher=Brucevanpatter.com |access-date=2011-01-27 |archive-date=2018-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715095741/http://brucevanpatter.com/world_greetings.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> French culture accepts a number of ways to greet depending on the region. Two kisses are most common throughout all of France but in [[Provence]] three kisses are given and in Nantes four are exchanged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa051801f.htm |title=Faire la bise - French Gestures |publisher=French.about.com |date=2011-01-02 |access-date=2011-01-27 |archive-date=2015-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319172134/http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa051801f.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, in Finistère at the western tip of Brittany and Deux-Sèvres in the Poitou-Charentes region, one kiss is preferred.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bigthink.com/ideas/21262 |title=210 French Kissing Map |publisher=Frank Jacobs |date=2007-12-02 |access-date=2012-01-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://grammarchecker.online/email-greetings/ |title=Email greetings. |publisher=Alex |date=2019-10-31 |access-date=2019-10-27}}</ref>

===Other greeting gestures===
[[File:JFC-UA commander visits Task Force Lifeliner 141106-A-KO462-076.jpg|thumb|right|The commander of [[Operation United Assistance]] using an elbow bump greeting while combating [[Ebola]] in [[Liberia]] in 2014]]
[[File:Steven Gerrard in Thailand (12775079374).jpg|thumb|[[Steven Gerrard]] performing a [[Thai greeting|Wai]]]]
[[File:Provincia de Buenos Aires - Del Viso - Ruper saludando.jpg|thumb|[[Wave (gesture)|Waving]]]]
* [[Adab (gesture)|Adab]]
* [[Bowing]]
* [[Cheek kissing]]
* [[Elbow bump]]
* [[Eskimo kissing]]
* [[Fist bump]], in which two individuals touch fists
* [[Fist-and-palm]]
* [[Hand-kissing]]
* [[Handshake]]
* [[Hat tip|Hat raising or tipping]]
* [[High-five]]
* [[Hug]]
* [[Kowtow]]
* [[Mano (gesture)]]
* [[Namaste]]
* [[Pranāma]]
* [[Hongi|Pressing noses]]
* [[Salute]] 
* [[Sampeah]]
* [[Tehniyat]]
* [[Wave (gesture)|Waving]], the gesture of moving one's hand back and forth
* [[Thai greeting|Wai]]
* [[Vanakkam]]