Osculate / verb / os·​cu·​late

"Osculate" is a verb we use with a two-part meaning. In the first sense, "osculate" is a mathematical term that describes curved surfaces with a common touch point. Scientists and mathematicians use "osculate" as a geometry term to describe the point where two curved surfaces meet. The second sense "osculate" is a humorous way to describe the act of kissing. In this secondary definition, "osculate" represents kissing or being kissed in its transitive form.

In a Sentence

The hero and heroine in the movie osculated for almost a full minute at the end of the production.

Some people feel ashamed to publicly display affection and osculate in public.

The newly formed couple remembered the first time they had osculated after their blind date.

Etymology

While there is some speculation that osculate appeared in language circa 1656, the first official use of the word is in mid-17th century Latin. We derived osculate from a combination of three related Latin words. "Osculate" comes from the Latin term ‘osculat' meaning "to be kissed." The second version of the word "osculate" has close ties to the Latin word ‘osculari.' Last, the third word we used to form "osculate" is the Latin-based ‘osculum' with a definition that means "little mouth or kiss."

Synonym

Kiss, Geometry

Antonym

Disengage, Abstain