osculate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to come into close contact or union.
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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)
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to bring into close contact or union.
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Geometry. (of a curve) to touch (another curve or another part of the same curve) in osculation or close contact.
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to kiss.
verb
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humorous to kiss
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(intr) (of an organism or group of organisms) to be intermediate between two taxonomic groups
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geometry to touch in osculation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of osculate
1650–60; < Latin ōsculātus (past participle of ōsculārī to kiss), equivalent to ōscul ( um ) kiss, literally, little mouth ( see osculum) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To osculate is to kiss or touch with your lips. If you osculate your dog on the mouth, some of your family members will laugh while others will be disgusted. The kind of kiss you give when you osculate is by definition either a goofy one or an almost exaggeratedly formal one, like a dapper gentleman who kisses a lady's hand. There is also a mathematical definition of osculate, which is almost like a math kiss: when two surfaces or two curves touch in at least three points. The Latin root word is osculum, kiss, or literally little mouth.
Vocabulary lists containing osculate
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.
See Examples For:
V. be contiguous &c. adj.; join, adjoin, abut on, march with; graze, touch, meet, osculate, come in contact, coincide; coexist; adhere &c.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark
Obedient then to Nature's law, With her they did associate, Squeeze tiny hands and osculate; Her tresses curled in fashion saw, And oft in whispers would impart A maiden's secrets—of the heart.
From Eugene Oneguine [Onegin] A Romance of Russian Life in Verse by Spalding, Henry
Suppose we form a circle in the osculating plane of C at point P on the curve.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
Lat, the plane determined by the vectors T and N forms the osculating plane of C at any point P on the curve.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
To find the equation of an osculating circle in two dimensions, we need find only the center and radius of the circle.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
Figure 3.8 In this osculating circle, the circle is tangent to curve C at point P and shares the same curvature.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
The position and velocity being given in all three co-ordinates, a certain osculating plane is determined for each instant in which the planet is moving at that instant.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various
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.
