osculate

[ os-kyuh-leyt ]

verb (used without object)

, os·cu·lat·ed, os·cu·lat·ing.

1. to come into close contact or union.
2. Geometry. (of a curve) to touch another curve or another part of the same curve so as to have the same tangent and curvature at the point of contact.

verb (used with object)

, os·cu·lat·ed, os·cu·lat·ing.

1. to bring into close contact or union.
2. Geometry. (of a curve) to touch (another curve or another part of the same curve) in osculation or close contact.
3. to kiss.

osculate

/ ˈɒskjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. humorous.
   to kiss
2. intr (of an organism or group of organisms) to be intermediate between two taxonomic groups
3. geometry to touch in osculation

Other Words From

• os·cu·la·to·ry [os, -ky, uh, -l, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], adjective
• un·oscu·lated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of osculate¹

1650–60; < Latin ōsculātus (past participle of ōsculārī to kiss), equivalent to ōscul ( um ) kiss, literally, little mouth ( osculum ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of osculate¹

C17: from Latin ōsculārī to kiss; see osculum

Example Sentences

She felt fortunate that Roman Catholic weddings don’t require the couple to “osculate,” a fancy word for kiss.

From New York Times

The depictions of make-out sessions, with actors seeming to osculate the lens, offer a clinical perspective.

From The New Yorker

It gleams and sparkles in the sunlight and invites lovers to enter and osculate.

From New York Times

In superconducting metals, atoms are aligned in such a way that their orbits tangentially osculate each other, thus allowing electrons to pass smoothly from one atom’s orbit to the next.

From Scientific American

When a point of such a curve is given, the osculating plane is determined, hence all the curves through a given point with the same tangent have the same torsion.

From Project Gutenberg