Osculants

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Relating to substances or elements that participate in contact or close approach with one another
2. describing features that facilitate or enhance the act of touching or close interaction between entities
3. characterizing items or materials that promote or involve kissing or lip contact in various contexts

Etymology: "Osculants" is the plural of "osculant," a noun for substances or elements that come into contact or close approach with one another. The root is the Latin verb "osculari," meaning "to kiss," which also gave English "osculate," used of things that touch or meet closely. A kiss is a meeting of two surfaces, and the same notion of contact carried over from the human gesture to the chemical and physical sense. The word is a plural, so it inherits its meaning from "osculant." The Latin source, "osculans," was a present participle, the form used to describe something in the act of kissing, which made the leap from a human action to a general idea of touching or meeting a natural one.