A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's hands, and in most cases, it is accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes are specific to cultures. Different cultures may be more or less likely to shake hands, or there may be different customs about how or when to shake hands.
Two people shaking hands
Richard Nixon shaking hands with pope Paul VI
Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (right) shakes the hand of Babylonian king Marduk-zakir-shumi I (left), 9th century BCE
Hera and Athena handshaking, late 5th century BC, Acropolis Museum, Athens
Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. Greetings are sometimes used just prior to a conversation or to greet in passing, such as on a sidewalk or trail. While greeting customs are highly culture- and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and relationship, they exist in all known human cultures. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. This topic excludes military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures. A greeting, or salutation, can also be expressed in written communications, such as letters and emails.
The civilian Secretary General of NATO Joseph Luns from the Netherlands 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.
Chinese greeting (Fist-and-palm) practised by Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Namaste greeting – a common cultural practice in India
Denis Thatcher, husband of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher, greets former American First Lady Nancy Reagan by kissing her hand, 1988.