osculate

verb

os·​cu·​late ˈä-skyə-ˌlāt 

osculated; osculating

transitive verb

: kiss

Did you know?

Osculate and Geometry

Osculate comes from the Latin noun osculum, meaning "kiss" or "little mouth." It was included in a dictionary of "hard" words in 1656, but we have no evidence that anyone actually used it until the 19th century—except for scientists who used it differently to mean "to have contact with." Today, osculate is used in geometry for the action of a pair of curves or surfaces that touch so that they have a common tangent at the point of contact. When osculate is used to mean "kiss," the context is typically humorous.

Word History

Etymology

Latin osculatus, past participle of osculari, from osculum kiss, from diminutive of os mouth — more at oral

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!