▪ I. osculatory, n.
(ˈɒskjʊlətərɪ)
[ad. med.L. osculātōri-um tablet to be kissed during Mass, f. ppl. stem of osculārī to kiss: see osculate v. and -ory1.]
A painted, stamped, or carved representation of Christ or the Virgin, formerly kissed by the priest and people during Mass.
| 1763 Burn Eccl. Law I. 265 The parishioners shall find at their own charge..a vessel for the blessed water, an osculatory, a candlestick for the taper at Easter. Ibid. II. 130 The osculatory was a tablet or board, with the picture of Christ, or the blessed virgin, or some other of the saints, which after the consecration of the elements in the eucharist, the priest first kissed himself, and then delivered it to the people for the same purpose. 1882–3 Schaff Encycl. Relig. Knowl. II. 1207. |
▪ II. osculatory, a.
(ˈɒskjʊlətərɪ)
[ad. L. type *osculātōri-us (see prec.), f. ppl. stem of osculārī to kiss: see -ory2.]
1. Of, belonging to, or characterized by kissing.
| 1849 Thackeray Pendennis xxiv, The two ladies went through the osculatory ceremony. 1881 Ld. Dunraven in 19th Cent. No. 38. 639 It must be an osculatory process more useful than agreeable. |
2. Math. Osculating; of or belonging to osculation or the osculating circle.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. App. s.v. Curvature, Called the circle of curvature..also called, especially by foreign mathematicians, the osculatory circle. 1795 Hutton Math. Dict. s.v., In a circle, all the Osculatory radii are equal, being the common radius of the circle. Ibid., Osculatory Point, the Osculation, or point of contact between a curve and its Osculatory circle. |