English → Latin
“kiss” in Latin
ōsculorto kiss; to embrace, valuesuāviorto kissōsculuma kiss; a little mouth; a small orificesuāvissweet, pleasant, deliciousbāsiumkiss (especially of the hand); kiss of the lips (especially in Catullus and Martial)offerōto bring before or bring to, present, offer, bestow, show, place before, exhibit, expose; to cause, occasion, inflict; t
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
kiss v.
osculari, suaviari, basiare aliquem [SYN. in KISS, s.] . To kiss a person on his arrival, osculis aliquem excipere: to kiss anybody repeatedly and heartily, aliquem exosculari (to kiss anybody away): aliquem dissuaviari (to kiss anybody’s mouth, hand, cheeks, etc., as it were, to kiss to pieces). To give anybody one’s hand to kiss, osculandam dextram alicui porrigere; dextram osculis aversam porrigere (after Plin., 11, 45, 103): to kiss anybody’s hand, manum alicujus ad os referre; dextram alicujus ad oscujum referre; dextram aversam osculis appetere: to kiss a person’s hand repeatedly, manum alicujus exosculari; dextram alicujus osculis fatigare: to introduce anybody to kiss the king’s hand, admovere aliquem dextrae regis: to have an audience to kiss the king’s hand, admitti ad dextram regis (after Curt., 6, 5, 4): to kiss the ground, terram contingere osculo: to kiss one another, osculari inter se (poetical oscula jungere and labella cum labellis comparare): kiss Attica for me, Atticae meis verbis suavium des.
kiss s.
osculum (general term, on the mouth, the cheek, or the hand): suavium (a tender kiss on the mouth or cheek): basium (a smacking kiss). To give anybody a kiss, osculum, or suavium, or basium alicui dare; osculum alicui ferre or offerre; basium or suavium alicui imprimere (Martisalis, 10, 42, 5; Apul. Met., 2, p. 119, 6); osculum alicui applicare (Ov., Fast., 4, 851); osculum alicui ingerere (unperceived, and against the will of anybody, Suet., Gramm., 23): to give one kiss after another, suavia super suavia cidare; spississima basia alicui impingere: to take a kiss, osculum sumere or capere: to steal a kiss from anybody, osculum alicui rapere; suavium alicui surripere: to blow kisses to anybody, a facie manus jactare (Juv., 3, 106).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for kiss?
- The usual Latin words for “kiss” are ōsculor, suāvior, ōsculum; also suāvis, bāsium, offerō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.