caress

English

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈɹɛs/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛs

Noun

caress (plural caresses)

1. An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness. [from 1640s]
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XVII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     He exerted himself to win by indulgence and caresses the hearts of all who were under his command.

   • 1855 November 10, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Four Winds”, in The Song of Hiawatha, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 26:

     And he wooed her with his soft caresses, / Wooed her with his smile of sunshine, […]

2. A gentle stroking or rubbing.

Translations

endearment

• Belarusian: ла́ска f (láska)
• Bikol Central: hapros (bcl)
• Dutch: strelen (nl)
• German: Liebkosung (de) f, Umarmung (de) f
• Hungarian: kedveskedés (hu), gyengédség (hu), átölelés (hu), dédelgetés (hu)
• Polish: pieszczota (pl) f
• Russian: ла́ска (ru) f (láska)
• Ukrainian: ла́ска (uk) f (láska)
• Welsh: llawch m

gentle stroking

• Azerbaijani: sığal (az)
• Bikol Central: hapros (bcl)
• Bulgarian: милувка f (miluvka)
• Dutch: strelen (nl) n
• Galician: cariño (gl) m, caricia f
• German: Streicheln n
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἔφαψις f (éphapsis), ψαῦσμα n (psaûsma)

• Hungarian: cirógatás (hu), simogatás (hu)
• Japanese: 愛撫 (ja)
• Korean: 애무 (ko) (aemu)
• Russian: погла́живание (ru) impf (pogláživanije), ла́ска (ru) f (láska)
• Spanish: caricia (es), carantoña (es)
• Welsh: anwes (cy) m, llawch m

Verb

caress (third-person singular simple present caresses, present participle caressing, simple past and past participle caressed)

1. (transitive) To touch or kiss lovingly; to fondle.

   Synonyms: hold, soothe, stroke, kiss; see also Thesaurus:fondle, Thesaurus:kiss

   She loves being caressed by her boyfriend.

2. (transitive) To affect as if with a caress.
   • 2012, Mel Berry, Graceful Intentions, page 1:

     The love and anguish in his voice caressed my mind and soul.

Translations

touch or kiss lovingly

• Albanian: ledhatoj (sq), përkëdhel (sq)
• Arabic: لَاطَفَ (lāṭafa)
• Armenian: գգվել (hy) (ggvel), շոյել (hy) (šoyel)
• Azerbaijani: oxşamaq, əzizləmək (az), nəvaziş etmək, nazlamaq, sığal çəkmək, sığallamaq, tumarlamaq (az)
• Belarusian: ла́шчыць impf (láščycʹ), пе́сціць impf (pjéscicʹ), галубі́ць impf (halubícʹ), гла́дзіць impf (hládzicʹ) (stroke gently)
• Bikol Central: hapros (bcl)
• Bulgarian: ми́лвам (bg) impf (mílvam), ласка́я (bg) impf (laskája)
• Catalan: acariciar (ca) f, acaronar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 愛撫 / 爱抚 (zh) (àifǔ)

• Czech: laskat (cs) impf, hladit (cs) impf, pohladit pf
• Danish: kærtegne (da)
• Dutch: liefkozen (nl)
• Esperanto: intimumi, (pri tuŝado) karesi (eo)
• Finnish: hyväillä (fi)
• French: caresser (fr)
• Galician: acariñar (gl), aloumiñar (gl), acariciar (gl), afagar, cofar (gl)
• Gallurese: carignà, accaritzà
• German: liebkosen (de), kosen (de)
• Greek: χαϊδεύω (el) (chaïdévo), θωπεύω (el) (thopévo)
• Hindi: हाथ फेरना (hāth phernā), सहलाना (hi) (sahlānā), दुलारना (hi) (dulārnā), प्यार करना (pyār karnā), लाड़ करना (lāṛ karnā), लाड़ लड़ाना (lāṛ laṛānā), पुचकारना (hi) (puckārnā)
• Hungarian: cirógat (hu) (stroke gently), simogat (hu) (stroke), dédelget (hu), átölel (hu)
• Indonesian: elus (id), membelai (id)
• Irish: muirnigh, slíoc
• Italian: accarezzare (it)
• Japanese: 愛撫する (ja) (あいぶする, aibu suru)
• Korean: 어루만지다 (ko) (eorumanjida), 매만지다 (maemanjida), 애무하다 (ko) (aemuhada)
• Kumyk: аявламакъ (ayawlamaq)
• Latin: palpō, mulceō, contrectō
• Latvian: glāstīt
• Luxembourgish: heemelen
• Macedonian: милува impf (miluva), гали impf (gali), мази (mazi)
• Maori: mori, morimori
• Persian: نوازش کردن (fa) (navâzeš kardan)
• Polish: pieścić (pl) impf, głaskać (pl) impf
• Portuguese: acariciar (pt)
• Quechua: waylluy (qu)
• Romanian: dezmierda (ro), alinta (ro), mângâia (ro)
• Russian: ласка́ть (ru) impf (laskátʹ), гла́дить (ru) impf (gláditʹ) (stroke gently), голу́бить (ru) impf (golúbitʹ), милова́ть (ru) impf (milovátʹ)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: accaritziai, carignai

  Logudorese: accarissiare, carignare

• Sassarese: carignà, imbirrià
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ми̏ловати impf

  Roman: mȉlovati (sh) impf

• Sicilian: allisciari (scn)
• Slovak: hladiť impf
• Slovene: ljubkovati (sl) impf, božati (sl) impf
• Spanish: acariciar (es), franelear (vulgar, South America), apapachar (es) (Latin America), apapuchar (es) (Latin America)
• Swedish: smeka (sv)
• Thai: เชยชม (th) (chəəi-chom), เชย (chəəi)
• Turkish: okşamak (tr)
• Ukrainian: ласка́ти impf (laskáty), пе́стити impf (péstyty), пести́ти impf (pestýty), пе́стувати impf (péstuvaty), голу́бити impf (holúbyty), милува́ти impf (myluváty), гла́дити impf (hládyty) (stroke gently)
• Vietnamese: vuốt ve (vi), mơn trớn (vi)
• Volapük: löfülön (vo)
• Welsh: anwesu (cy), llochi

Derived terms

• caressable
• caressingly
• caressive
• uncaressed

 

Anagrams

• Crases, SERCAs, carses, casers, crases, sacres, scares, seracs, séracs