what does a kiss on the hand mean?

zelly: what does a kiss on the hand mean?
there was this guy thats in my computer class and he came in front of me.and he held his hand out and i thought he was gonna like give me a hand shake…so i gave him my hand..and he said something in french and kissed it. wtf does that mean? & then he told me he has never done that before.

Answers and Views:

Answer by dELiAs
it means he respects you. =] hes a gentleman, hahaha not many of them around these days. Lucky you.

Answer by aida
Sounds nice to this old lady! Evidently he likes and respects you! Just be careful if he starts kissing his way up your arm!

Answer by holly
He was trying to impress you.

Answer by Veronique
It’s just a greeting. Very proper, but a greeting none the less.

Answer by Skookum
It means he like you, but he didn’t understand the protocol. It is up the lady to initiate.
The hand-kiss is offered by a woman to a man (the man kissing the hand). It is a gesture of extreme politeness where the lady offering it is expected to be of same or higher social status than the gentleman executing it. It is considered impolite to refuse an offered hand-kiss. Hand-kissing has become rare and is mostly restricted to conservative upper class or diplomats.
But don’t worry. From the way you sound, I’m sure it will be the only time you’ll ever encounter it.

Answer by picador
I think it’s cute. He’s probably seen some period movie where that was done and thought that he’d give it a try himself. Good for him, and good for you for not getting all emo about it.