caress
/kəˈɹɛs/ noun, verb
Forms caresses caressing caressed
- noun An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness.
- noun A gentle stroking or rubbing.
- verb (transitive) To touch or kiss lovingly; to fondle. “She loves being caressed by her boyfriend.”
- verb (transitive) To affect as if with a caress.
Synonyms
hold soothe stroke kiss canoodle chuckle coax cosset dally dandle dawt faddle feel up fond fondle grabble grope nantle pet pettle
Etymology
From French caresse, from Italian carezza (“dear”), from Latin cārus (“dear”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂-, akin to Sanskrit काम (kāma, “love”). Doublet of karezza.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness.
- verb To treat with tokens of fondness, affection, or kindness; to touch or speak to in a loving or endearing manner; to fondle.
Etymology [F. caresse, It. carezza, LL. caritia dearness, fr. L. carus dear. See Charity.]
Etymology [F. caresser, fr. It. carezzare, fr. carezza caress. See Caress., n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “caress”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details