Doff his cap ?

[k0ala]

Where did the custom of a man 'doffing his cap ' to a lady originate ?

[Quizmonster]

Removing one's hat - to anyone - has long been a sign of respect, probably dating back at least to the days of chivalry when a knight might well remove his helmet to show friendly intentions. It is generally believed that the salute came from a gesture designed to show that you were friendly. Holding an empty hand aloft made it clear to someone who wasn't sure if you were friend or foe that you were not holding a weapon. Similarly, if a knight in armour put his hand up and raised his helmet's visor, he was a) making his identity clear by revealing his face...b) opening himself to attack and c) as before, revealing an empty, unarmed hand. Basically, it was a gesture of friendship.
In the days when almost all men wore hats - well within living memory! - a young man would raise his hat to an older one or a worker to his boss and so on. Specifically raising one's hat to a lady was just an aspect of the same respect agenda.

[Jemisa]

Same sortof thing where shaking hands came from. It was to show there was nothing concealed in ones hand at the end of battle to seal a gentlemans agreement.

Jem

[fredpuli47]

What about 'tugging the forelock' ? Was that for peasants who couldn't afford a cap to doff?
The salute is a similar gesture but is used when the wearer has a hat. Is it nonetheless derived from the practice of doffing a cap?

[Quizmonster]

I imagine the peasants saw the squire doffing his hat to the bishop, the mayor's wife or whoever and thought it a good idea to ape such civilised behaviour, getting as close to it as bare-headed circumstances allowed.
We see varieties of 'saluting' behaviour. For example, no British soldier will ever be seen saluting if he is NOT wearing a hat, but American soldiers of all ranks - and even Presidents getting out of military helicopters for instance - do it all the time.
In whatever situation the gesture is used or whatever precise form it takes, it is, as I first said, a mark of respect and almost certainly based on ancient 'knightly' behaviour.

[fredpuli47]

Bring back forelock tugging, I say ! Nobody born in a town believes this, but the old road-mender (every village had one) used to tug his forelock, as though grasping the peak of an imaginary cap, to me as I walked to the village school, and say 'Morning Master [Fred]' ('Master' as in Master for a male child, not literally as his master). I was 5 and 6 years old.This was in 1952/3 in Cambridgeshire. My grand status (!) was that I was the son of a farmer.The vicar's children and the village schoolmaster's son were afforded the same greeting.. Tenant farmers' children were not.

What went wrong ? You could be a judge in Cambridgeshire now and be addressed by your Christian name by the local shopkeeper, by Gad ! [Note: Must complain to AOG about the country going to the dogs ]

[Quizmonster]

Ah, the joys of privilege, Fred! One cannot help but feel occasionally that egalitarianism has gone too far.