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osculum

American  
[os-kyuh-luhm] / ˈɒs kyə ləm /

noun

plural

oscula

  1. a small mouthlike aperture, as of a sponge.

osculum British  
/ ˈɒskjʊləm /

noun

  1. zoology a mouthlike aperture, esp the opening in a sponge out of which water passes

"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

Etymology

Origin of osculum

1605–15; < New Latin, Latin ōsculum, equivalent to ōs mouth + -culum -cule 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Osculum Silence, which won a prize in the Carnegie Institute's painting competition in Pittsburgh, or Chemise?are among the sharpest and most resonant works of his career.

From Time Magazine Archive

Osculum An aperture through which water is ejected from the sponge.

From Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa by Annandale, Nelson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.