osculation

[os-kyuh-ley-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of kissing.

2. a kiss.

3. close contact.

4. Geometry.,  the contact between two osculating curves or the like.

osculation

/ ˌɒskjʊˈleɪʃən, ˈɒskjʊlətərɪ, -trɪ /

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

Other Word Forms

• osculatory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of osculation¹

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

Example Sentences

You won’t find “come from away” or “screech-in”—a mock ceremony depicted in the musical that confers Newfoundland “citizenship,” featuring extreme drunkenness and the osculation of a raw cod—in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Read more on The New Yorker

One of the play's more memorable exchanges directly engages the all-important subject of theatrical osculation.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

I suppose he was afraid she would have no lips left after such reiterated osculation.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

On the same day I saw “Vanya,” I was treated to a more optimistic act of osculation in the afternoon.

Read more on New York Times

Acts of osculation have of course been known to sweep people off their feet.

Read more on New York Times