osculate

• POS: Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive)
• HYPHEN: os=cu=late

CIDE DICTIONARY

osculate, v. t. [L. osculatus, p. p. of osculari to kiss, fr. osculum a little mouth, a kiss, dim. of os mouth. See Oral, and cf. Oscillate.].

•  To kiss.  [1913 Webster]
•  To touch closely, so as to have a common curvature at the point of contact. See Osculation, 2.  [1913 Webster]

osculate, v. i. 

•  To kiss one another; to kiss.  [1913 Webster]
•  To touch closely. See Osculation, 2.  [1913 Webster]
•  To have characters in common with two genera or families, so as to form a connecting link between them; to interosculate. See Osculant.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

osculate, v.
1 tr. Math. (of a curve or surface) have contact of at least the second order with; have two branches with a common tangent, with each branch extending in both directions of the tangent.
2 v.intr. & tr. joc. kiss.
3 intr. Biol. (of a species etc.) be related through an intermediate species; have common characteristics with another or with each other.

Derivative

osculant adj. osculation n. osculatory adj.

Etymology

L osculari kiss (as OSCULAR)

THESAURUS

osculate

blow a kiss, brush, brush by, bus, buss, caress, come in contact, contact, glance, graze, hit, impinge, kiss, lip, nudge, peck, rub, scrape, shave, sideswipe, skim, skirt, smack, smooch, squeak by, touch

ROGET THESAURUS

osculate

Contiguity

VB be contiguous, join, adjoin, abut on, march with, graze, touch, meet, osculate, come in contact, coincide, coexist, adhere, juxtapose, contact, join (unite), link (vinculum).