Osculatory
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A religious tablet, usually carrying a representation of Christ or the Virgin Mary, which is kissed by the priest during the Mass ("kiss of peace"); it is then passed to others at the mass who also kiss it.
- 1 Of or relating to kissing. formal
"On this the two ladies went through the osculatory ceremony which they were in the habit of performing, and Mrs. Pendennis got a great secret comfort from the little quarrel—for Laura’s confession seemed to say, “That girl can never be a wife for Pen, for she is light-minded and heartless, and quite unworthy of our noble hero.[…]”"
- 2 Relating to, or having the properties of, an osculatrix; capable of osculation.
"A circle may be osculatory with a curve, at a given point."
Example
More examples"On this the two ladies went through the osculatory ceremony which they were in the habit of performing, and Mrs. Pendennis got a great secret comfort from the little quarrel—for Laura’s confession seemed to say, “That girl can never be a wife for Pen, for she is light-minded and heartless, and quite unworthy of our noble hero.[…]”"
Etymology
From Latin ōsculātōrium.
From osculate + -ory.
More for "osculatory"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.