OSCULANT

Etymology

Adjective

osculant (not comparable)

Kissing; hence, touching or meeting; clinging.

(zoology) Adhering closely; applied to certain creeping animals, such as caterpillars.

(biology) Intermediate between two genera, groups, families, etc, and having some of the characteristics of each; interosculant.

(Bantu linguistics) Intermediate between multiple potentially reconstructible protoforms, but having a mismatch in semantics or morphology that cannot be explained through regular patterns of change.

Anagrams

• Lacounts, consulta

Source: Wiktionary


Os"cu*lant, a. Etym: [L. osculans, -antis, p. pr. of osculari to kiss. See Osculate.]

1. Kissing; hence, meeting; clinging.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Adhering closely; embracing; -- applied to certain creeping animals, as caterpillars.

3. (Biol.)

Definition: Intermediate in character, or on the border, between two genera, groups, families, etc., of animals or plants, and partaking somewhat of the characters of each, thus forming a connecting link; interosculant; as, the genera by which two families approximate are called osculant genera.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

17 March 2025

PARAMAGNET

(noun) magnet made of a substance whose magnetization is proportional to the strength of the magnetic field applied to it


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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