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.
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
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
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.
