osculate
verb
- to have a common tangent at point of contact, of curves or surfaces
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɒskjʊlət/ / /ˈɒskjələt/ / /ˈɑskjələt/ / /ˈɒskjʊˌleɪt/ / /ˈɒskjəˌleɪt/ / /ˈɑskjəˌleɪt/
adj
Etymology: From Latin ōsculātus.
- Relating to kissing.
verb
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin ōsculātus, perfect active participle of ōsculor (“to kiss”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ōsculum (“a kiss”) + -or (verbal suffix), from ōs (“mouth”) + -culum (diminutive suffix). See also oscillate.
- To kiss.
“And in the Olmsted Hotel in Cleveland he surprised a porter and a maid lasciviously osculating in a stairwell.”
- To touch so as to have the same tangent and curvature at the point of contact.
- To make contact.
- To perform osculation.
- To form a connecting link between two genera.