Osculate

Osculate (pronounced os-kyuh-leyt)

(1) To come into close contact or union.

(2) In geometry (of a curve), to touch another curve or another part of the same curve so as to have the same tangent and curvature at the point of contact.

(3) To kiss (now often jocular).

(4) In zoology, of an organism or group of organisms, to be intermediate between two taxonomic groups.

(5) In mathematics, determining whether a number is divisible by another by means of certain operations on its digits.

1650-1660: From the Classical Latin ōsculātiōn, stem of ōsculātiō (a kissing) drawn from osculor (I kiss).  The –ate suffix (used to form adjectives from nouns indicating the possession of a thing or a quality) was from the Proto-Italic -ātos, from the primitive Indo-European –ehtos; a "pseudo-participle" possibly related to -tus, though similar formations in other Indo-European languages show that it was distinct from it already in Indo-European times.  It was cognate to the Proto-Slavic –atъ and the Proto-Germanic –ōdaz.  Osculator has retained its original meaning (a kisser) but is now more often cited as the title of the Osculator software, a specialised calculator.

The noun & adjective osculatory (the noun plural osculatories) means "of or relating to kissing" but also enjoys two technical meanings: (1) in geometry it means "relating to, or having the properties of, an osculatrix; capable of osculation" and (2) in Christianity it describes a religious tablet (usually one with a representation of Christ or the Virgin Mary) which is kissed by the priest during the Mass (the "kiss of peace") after which it is passed to others in the congregation for them to kiss (the ritual modified in recent years, notably after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic).  As an adjective (in both geometry and kissing!), the comparative is more osculatory and the superlative most osculatory).  The now most commonly used form now appears to be the noun osculation, from the Latin ōsculātus, past participle of ōsculārī (to kiss) from osculum (a kiss; pretty mouth, sweet mouth (literally "little mouth") a diminutive of os (mouth).  Osculate is a verb & adjective, osculation is a noun, osculated is a verb, osculating is a verb & adjective, osculant is a noun & adjective and osculatory is a noun & adjective; the most common noun plural is osculations.

Il Bacio della Morte (The Kiss of Death).  That Ms Christian's eyes remained wide open at such a moment has long disturbed some.

The monochrome image known as the Il Bacio della Morte (The Kiss of Death) was taken on 12 May 1957 at the moment actress Linda Christian (1923-2011) kisses Scuderia Ferrari factory driver Alfonso de Portago (1928–1957) as he was about to re-join the 1957 Mille Miglia (thousand mile) race after a brief stop.  Moments later, Portago died instantly when, at high speed on the road between Cerlongo and Guidizzolo, a tyre blew, causing his 4.2 litre Ferrari 335 S to crash, killing eleven including de Portago's navigator and nine spectators, four of whom were children.  The 1957 event was the 24^th running of the endurance classic which had first been contested in 1927 and by the 1950s was one of the most prestigious rounds of the World Sports Car Championship, attracting factory entries from Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, BMW & Porsche; it would also be the last.

The victorious Ferrari 315 S, 1957 Mille Miglia.

Scuderia Ferrari's entries would finish 1-2-3 and the team would win the 1957 World Sports Car Championship.  Only three 315 S cars were constructed, two modified from earlier chassis (a 290 S & 290 MM) and one an original build.  Because a 3.0 litre limit was imposed for the subsequent season, development ceased and the 250 Testa Rossa (literally "Red Head" a reference to the red paint applied to the V12's camshaft covers) was created.

The Mille Miglia was a round trip from Rome to Brescia and back and by the mid 1950s  the cars had become very fast (speeds of 180 mph (290 km/h) were recorded and the 1955 race was won by a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W196S) with average speed close to 100 mph (161 km/h)) and the event was run on public roads which, while closed for the occasion, were poorly supervised and crowd control in many places was non-existent, people forming on the kerbs to ensure the best view, literally inches from cars travelling at high speed.  Over thirty years, the race had claimed the lives of 30 souls but the eleven in 1957 would be the last because within days, the Italian government banned all all motor racing on Italian public roads although since 1977 an event of the same name over much the same course has been run for historic vehicles which competed in the event in period (or were accepted and registered).  Now very much a social occasion for the rich, it's not a high-speed event.

Just who too the Kiss of death has never been known and although one eye is drawn Linda Christian looking lovely in polka dots, what is striking is the sight of de Portago in "pudding basin" helmet, goggles and leather jacket, sitting in his open Ferrari without seatbelts.  It was a time when motor racing was a dangerous business for drivers and spectators alike, 83 of whom were killed at Le Mans in 1955 and the reasons for the long and lucrative careers of modern top-flight drivers includes (1) they survive because the cars and circuits are now so much safer and (2) they're not when younger dissuaded from their career choice by having to attend several funerals a year.  Life magazine was not hyperbolic when it published the photograph under the headline Death finally takes a man who courted it.  There remains an alluring romance to The Kiss of Death.  

Linda Christian.

Linda Christian was between 1949-1956 married to the film star Tyrone Power (1914-1958) who she had divorced only shortly before The Kiss of Death was taken.  When Hollywood enfant terrible Orson Wells (1915-1985) was in 1956 received in the Vatican for an audience with Pope Pius XII (1876-1958; pope 1939-1958), he was expecting to be quizzed about American politics but was intrigued to find His Holiness more interested in industry gossip.  Later, Wells would recall the two sitting alone for 45 minutes, the pope "held my hand and never let it go" while asking questions like "Is it true that Irene Dunne is contemplating divorce?" and "What do you think of Ty Power’s marriage coming up?"  "All the hot stuff" was how Welles put it.  Others have had similar experiences with exalted clerics, Harold Macmillan (1894–1986; UK prime-minister 1957-1963) complaining that whenever he met an bishop with whom he wished to discuss some theological point, all they wanted to do was "talk politics".

Kissing is a style, a technique and a message:

Top row left: Comrade Stalin (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) delivers a “socialist fraternal kiss” to Red Air Force pilot Vasily Molokov (1895-1982) while (in cap, to the right) comrade Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986; Soviet foreign minister 1939-1949 & 1953-1956) watches approvingly.  Public kisses between men are rare in the modern Russia but the tradition was long and it was part of Soviet social orthodoxy.

Top row centre: Melania Trump (b 1970, US First Lady 2017-2021 and since 2025) demonstrates her perfected art of the “air kiss” with an osculating husband, Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021 and since 2025).  Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994; US First Lady 1961-1963) told Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; US president 1963-1969) she wore wide-brimmed hats to prevent him kissing her.

Top row right: Lindsay Lohan (b 1986) and fashion designer Donna Karan (b 1948 and creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels), London, 2006.  This photograph pre-dates Ms Lohan meeting former special friend, DJ Samantha Ronson (b 1977).

Bottom row left: George W Bush (George XLIII, b 1946; US president 2001-2009) and US talk show personality Oprah Winfrey (b 1954).  Ms Winfrey is here stopping a stage short of the “air kiss”, adopting the “lie back and think of the ratings” attitude.

Bottom row centre: Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017) and crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013).  Note crooked Hillary's open eyes and pursed lips.

Bottom row right: French football player Madeleine Bracquemond (1898–1981, left) and English Association Football (soccer) player Alice Cook (née Kell, 1898–1972, right), North End, Deepdale, Preston, UK, 1920.  In England, women's football (soccer) had in local competitions been played for decades before a rise in popularity during and immediately after World War I (1914-1918).  The English FA (Football Association) imposed a ban on women's participation in 1921, something attributed variously to sexism, theological interpretation and avarice, the fiscal envy trigged by the large (paying) crowds the women attracted.  Not until the 1970s was the ban relaxed and it took until the twenty-first century for women's football to enter the cultural and economic mainstream.