osculation

[ os-kyuh-ley-shuhn ]
See synonyms for osculation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of kissing.

  2. a kiss.

  1. close contact.

  2. Geometry. the contact between two osculating curves or the like.

Origin of osculation

1
1650–60; <Latin ōsculātiōn- (stem of ōsculātiō) a kissing, equivalent to ōsculāt(us) (see osculate) + -iōn--ion

Words that may be confused with osculation

Words Nearby osculation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use osculation in a sentence

  • I think I am able to assure the reader that in her head the osculation had given birth to no reveries.

  • If there was anything in the way of osculation that that member of an old Austrian family didn't know, I've got to find it out.

    Where There's A Will | Mary Roberts Rinehart
  • Whatever he projected in the nature of an enduring osculation was spoiled as Gladwin dropped the bag to the floor with a crash.

    Officer 666 | Barton W. Currie
  • Then the crowns were removed and kissed by each of the marrying pair, the bridegroom first performing the osculation.

  • Out of the Egyptian darkness came the unmistakable sounds of osculation in various parts of the room.

    Excuse Me! | Rupert Hughes

British Dictionary definitions for osculation

osculation

/ (ˌɒskjʊˈleɪʃən) /


noun
  1. Also called: tacnode maths a point at which two branches of a curve have a common tangent, each branch extending in both directions of the tangent

  2. rare the act or an instance of kissing

Derived forms of osculation

  • osculatory (ˈɒskjʊlətərɪ, -trɪ), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012