noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A curve whose contact with a given curve at a given point is of a higher order (or involves the equality of a greater number of successive differential coefficients of the ordinates of the curves taken at that point) than that of any other curve of the same kind.

Etymology

From New Latin osculātrīx (literally “female kisser”), from Latin osculor (“to kiss”) + -trīx.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.