Etymology

kissing

kiss·ing
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Today it means: That kisses; engaged in a kiss or kissing. Full definition →

Middle English kissynge ← Old English cyssende ← Proto-West Germanic *kussijandī
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kissing · verb, adjective1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kussijandz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kussijandī
  3. Old English · inherited fromcyssende
  4. Middle English · inherited fromkissynge
  5. English todaykissing

From Middle English kissynge, cussinde, from Old English cyssende, from Proto-West Germanic *kussijandī, from Proto-Germanic *kussijandz, equivalent to kiss + -ing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian küsjend, Dutch kussend, German Low German küssend, German küssend, Swedish kyssande, Icelandic kyssandi.

kissing · noun2

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kussīngu
  2. Old English · inherited from*cyssing
  3. Middle English · inherited fromkissynge
  4. English todaykissing

From Middle English kissynge, kyssynge, kessinge, from Old English *cyssing, from Proto-West Germanic *kussīngu, equivalent to kiss + -ing. Cognate with Middle Dutch cussinge (whence Dutch kussing (“kissing”)), Middle Low German küssinge (“kissing”), Middle High German küssunge (“kissing”). Compare also Old English cossettung (“kissing”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.