caress

From French caresse, from Italian carezza (“dear”), from Latin cārus (“dear”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂-, akin to Sanskrit काम (kāma, “love”).

• IPA^(key): /kəˈɹɛs/
• Rhymes: -ɛs

caress (plural caresses)

1. An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness. [from 1640s]
   • Longfellow

     Wooed her with his soft caresses.

   • Macaulay

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

2. A gentle stroking or rubbing.

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

   She loves being caressed by her boyfriend.

2. (transitive) To affect as if with a caress.

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