Osculate is a semi-archaic English word with several definitions.
*Often it means "to kiss", sometimes used in a "tongue-in-cheek" fashion.
*Its primary definition is "to bring, or come into, close contact of union".
*In mathematics, it means "to touch so as to have a common tangent at the point of contact". See
*An additional definition is "to bring into focus or tune, to attune".
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Osculate — Os cu*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Osculated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Osculating}.] [L. osculatus, p. p. of osculari to kiss, fr. osculum a little mouth, a kiss, dim. of os mouth. See {Oral}, and cf. {Oscillate}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To kiss. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Osculate — Os cu*late, v. i. 1. To kiss one another; to kiss. [1913 Webster] 2. (Geom.) To touch closely. See {Osculation}, 2. [1913 Webster] 3. (Biol.) To have characters in common with two genera or families, so as to form a connecting link between them;… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
osculate — index contact (touch), juxtapose Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
osculate — to kiss, 1650s, from L. osculari, from osculum kiss, lit. little mouth, dim. of os mouth (see ORAL (Cf. oral)) … Etymology dictionary
osculate — [äs′kyo͞o lāt΄, äs′kyəlāt΄] vt., vi. osculated, osculating [< L osculatus, pp. of osculari, to kiss < osculum, little mouth: see OSCULUM] 1. to kiss: a pretentious or facetious usage 2. to touch closely osculation n. osculatory [äs′kyo͞olə… … English World dictionary
osculate — See oscillate, osculate … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
osculate — [c]/ˈɒskjəleɪt / (say oskyuhlayt) verb (osculated, osculating) –verb (t) 1. to kiss. 2. to bring into close contact or union. 3. Geometry to touch so as to have three or more points in common at the point of contact. –verb (i) 4. to kiss each… …
osculate — transitive verb ( lated; lating) Etymology: Latin osculatus, past participle of osculari, from osculum kiss, from diminutive of os mouth more at oral Date: circa 1656 kiss … New Collegiate Dictionary
osculate — osculatory /os kyeuh leuh tawr ee, tohr ee/, adj. /os kyeuh layt /, v., osculated, osculating. v.i. 1. to come into close contact or union. 2. Geom. (of a curve) to touch another curve or another part of the same curve so as to have the same… … Universalium
osculate — verb a) To kiss someone or something. b) To touch so as to have a common tangent at the point of contact … Wiktionary
