[n. of action, f. adōsculāt- ppl. stem of adōsculā-ri to give a kiss to; f. ad to + ōsculā-ri to kiss; f. ōscul-um a little mouth, dim. of ōs mouth.]
1. Impregnation of animals or plants by mere external contact, without intromission.
1674. Grew, Anat. Plants, IV. v. § 9. (1682), 173. By many Birds, where there is no Intromission, but only an Adosculation of Parts.
1753. Chambers, Cycl. Supp., s.v., Divers kinds of birds and fishes are also impregnated by adosculation.
2. The insertion of one part of a plant into another.
1731. Bailey, vol. II., Adosculation (in Botany) a joining or insertion of one part of a plant into some cavity, as it were mouth to mouth. [Webster cites Crabb.]
