ETYMOLOGY | OLD ENGLISH | HISTORY | ROMANCE

An Exploration of Forgotten English #35

Inspired by the daily calendar Forgotten English by Jeff Kacirk

Photo by Lori DeJong on Unsplash

It has long been traditional in wedding ceremonies for the bride and groom to deosculate upon being pronounced officially married.

And they are not usually shy about it either. They will deosculate right there in front of family, friends, and everyone. On occasion, it can go on for quite some time.

Before you get too carried away, let me explain. To deosculate is an old English word found in Edward Phillip’s NEW WORLD OF ENGLISH WORDS, 1658, and means “a kissing with eagerness.”

Deosculate comes to English from the Latin “deosculatus,” which means “praised highly.” — https://glosbe.com/la/en/deosculatus

So, the next time you see two people deosculate, you will know that they think highly of each other at the very least.

Article inspired by Jeff Kacirk’s Forgotten English © 2023 Jeff Kacirk.

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