KISS

kiss, the act of pressing or touching with the lips, cheek, hand or lips of another, as a sign or expression of love, affection, reverence or greeting. skeat (_etym. dict._, 1898) connects the teut. base _kussa_ with lat. _gustus_, taste, and with goth. _kustus_, test, from _kinsan_, to choose, and takes "kiss" as ultimately a doublet of "choice." for the liturgical _osculum pacis_ or "kiss of peace," see pax. see further c. nyrop, _the kiss and its history_, trans. by w. f. harvey (1902); j. j. claudius, _dissertatio de salulationibus veterum_ (utrecht, 1702); and "_baisers d'etiquette_" (1689) in _archives curieuses de l'histoire de france_ (1834-1890, series ii. tom. 12).