Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Caress |
CaressNoun1. A gentle affectionate stroking (or something resembling it); "he showered her with caresses"; "soft music was a fond caress"; "the caresses of the breeze played over his face". Verb1. Touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner: "He caressed her face"; "They caressed in the back seat of the taxi". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "caress" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Caress, West Virginia."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Endearment | Verb: caress, fondle, pet, dandle; pat, pat on the head, pat on the cheek; chuck under the chin, smile upon, coax, wheedle, cosset, coddle, cockle; make of, make much of; cherish, foster, kill with kindness. |
Noun: endearment, caress; blandishment, blandiment; _panchement, fondling, billing and cooing, dalliance, necking, petting, sporting, sparking, hanky-panky; caressing. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Caress |
| English words defined with "caress": buss ♦ Caressed ♦ kiss ♦ osculation ♦ pet. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "caress": Decalogue ♦ Hair. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "caress": Suppalpation. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Just two hummingbirds moaning and groaning and letting their bodies caress and touch each other in ecstasy (South Park; writing credit: Rocco Siffredi) | |
Lyrics | The happiness in your warm caress (Good Luck Charm; performing artist: Elvis Presley) To caress me and to guide me twards (Real Love; performing artist: Mary J. Blige) I long to be the one that you caress with tenderness (Spanish Guitar; performing artist: Toni Braxton) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Caress of the Vampire 2 (1996) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | A kind of jealousy of her daughter for one strange moment possessed her -- jealousy of youth and love and opening life : or the evening seemed to halo and caress her. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | She sat down, and laid her soft white hand upon that stone as if she would caress it and thank it. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | Stephen passed out on to the wide platform above the steps and was conscious of the caress of mild evening air. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | However, when tissues become injured or inflamed, as with a sunburn or infection, they release chemicals that make nociceptors much more sensitive and cause them to transmit pain signals in response to even gentle stimuli such as breeze or a caress. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | DECALOGUE, n. A series of commandments, ten in number -- just enough to permit an intelligent selection for observance, but not enough to embarrass the choice. Following is the revised edition of the Decalogue, calculated for this meridian. Thou shalt no God but me adore: 'Twere too expensive to have more. No images nor idols make For Robert Ingersoll to break. Take not God's name in vain; select A time when it will have effect. Work not on Sabbath days at all, But go to see the teams play ball. Honor thy parents. That creates For life insurance lower rates. Kill not, abet not those who kill; Thou shalt not pay thy butcher's bill. Kiss not thy neighbor's wife, unless Thine own thy neighbor doth caress Don't steal; thou'lt never thus compete Successfully in business. Cheat. Bear not false witness -- that is low -- But "hear 'tis rumored so and so." Cover thou naught that thou hast not By hook or crook, or somehow, got. G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Caress" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 58.42% of the time. "Caress" is used about 202 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 58.42% | 118 | 29,674 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 30.2% | 61 | 43,149 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 10.89% | 22 | 74,468 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.5% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 202 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "caress"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | aai (ah, chuck, flatter, fondle, oh, ow, stroke). (various references) | |
Albanian | puth (Buss, kiss, lip, osculate), përkëdhelje (endearment, fondling, necking, Pat, stroke), përkëdhel (canoodle, cosher, dandle, fondle, pamper, pet, play about, spoon feed, stroke), ledhatoj (dandle, fondle), ledhatim (stroke), fërkoj (burnish, massage, pet, rasp, rub, rub down, shine), fërkim (embrocation, fondling, friction, massage, rub, rubbing, scouring, traction, unction). (various references) | |
Arabic | ملاطفة (civility, courtesy, friendliness, kind treatment, kindness, petting), لاطف (be nice, comply, fondle, humor, humour, indulge, molly-coddle, pet, treat well, treat with kindness), قبلة (kiss, osculation), تربيت (knock), عناق (clasp, conversion, cuddle, embracing, grasp, hug, hugging, squeeze), عانق (clasp, cuddle, embrace, enfold, fold, grasp, hug, lock, neck, pet, press), ربت بلطف. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | целувам (kiss, lip, salute), галя (canoodle, cosset, flatter, fondle, kiss, neck, nurse, pet), отнасям се мило, милувка, милвам (fondle, nurse, pet, stroke), ласка (blandishment, cajolement), погалвам (fondle, give smb. a pat, stroke), поглаждам, помилвам (amnesty, fondle, pardon, reprieve, stroke). (various references) | |
Chinese | 爱抚 (Caressed, Caressing), '抱 . (various references) | |
Czech | polaskání (cuddle), pohlazení (stroke), pohladit (stroke), mazlit se (cuddle, pet, play), mazlení, laskat, laskání. (various references) | |
Danish | stryge (chuck, fondle, stroke). (various references) | |
Dutch | aaien (chuck, fondle, stroke). (various references) | |
Esperanto | kareso (chuck, stroke), karesi (chuck, fondle, stroke). (various references) | |
Faeroese | ynda (chuck, fondle, stroke), kela (chuck, fondle, stroke), kína (chuck, fondle, stroke). (various references) | |
Farsi | نوازش (Pat), دلنوازی کردن , دلجوءی , دراغوش کشیدن . (various references) | |
Finnish | hyväillä (chuck, fondle, pet, stroke). (various references) | |
French | caresser, caresse (caresses). (various references) | |
Frisian | streakje (chuck, fondle, stroke), aaie (chuck, fondle, stroke). (various references) | |
German | liebkosen (chuck, fondle, pet, snuggle, stroke, to caress, to fondle, to snuggle), streicheln (chuck, fondle, pet, stroke, to stroke), Liebkosung (cuddle, fondling), kosen (fondle). (various references) | |
Greek | θωπεύω (cosset, dandle, fondle, pet, stroke). (various references) | |
Hebrew | ללטף (fondle, neck, pet, stroke), לחבק (clinch, embrace, enfold, hug), ל'פף (embrace, hug), לטיפ" (fondling, petting, stroke). (various references) | |
Hungarian | dédelgetés (coddling, fondling, pampering), cirógatás (billing and cooing, stroke), csókolás (osculation), átölelés. (various references) | |
Indonesian | cumbuan (banter, flattery, jest, sweet words), pelukan (screak), mengelus-elus (coas), belaian (flattery), belai. (various references) | |
Italian | accarezzare (cherish, chuck, fondle, pet, snuggle, stroke), carezza (fondling, Pat, stroke). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 愛' (loving dearly), 愛ぶ (loving dearly). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | あいぶ (loving dearly). (various references) | |
Korean | 무 (Caressing). (various references) | |
Manx | nuiddraghys (embrace, embracing, necking, petting, sport, sport with girl), nuiddragh (caressing, cuddle). (various references) | |
Norwegian | kjærtegne (fondle). (various references) | |
Papiamen | karisiá (chuck, fondle, stroke), karisia (chuck, stroke). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | aresscay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | afagar (canoodle, cherish, chuck, cotton, cotton on, embosom, fondle, hug, pamper, pat, pet, stroke), acariciar (blandish, canoodle, cherish, chuck, dandle, embosom, fawn, fondle, hug, neck, nestle, nurse, paddle, pamper, pet, stroke). (various references) | |
Romanian | dezmierda (blandish, chuck, cosher, cosset, delight, divert, flatter, fondle, pet, smooth, stroke). (various references) | |
Russian | ласкать ласка, ласкать (canoodle, cosher, dandle, fondle, pet), ласка (endearment, ndearment, tenderness, weasel), приласкать (fondle). (various references) | |
Scottish | criotaich, cniadaich. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | milovati (cuddle, fondle, nurse, palm, pet), milovanje (cuddle, fondling). (various references) | |
Spanish | acariciar (canoodle, chuck, cuddle, fawn on, fondle, hug, Pat, pet, snuggle, stroke, tickle, toy with), caricia (chuck, fomentation, Pat, stroke). (various references) | |
Sranan | kor'kori (chuck, fondle, stroke), kori (cheat, chuck, deceive, flatter, fondle, stroke). (various references) | |
Swedish | smekning, smeka (fondle). (various references) | |
Turkish | sevmek (affect, be fond of, be sweet on smb., care, dandle, enjoy, fancy, fondle, like, love, pet), okşamak (canoodle, dandle, fondle, grope, Pat, pet, stroke), okşama (caressing, Pat, patting, stroke), kucaklamak (canoodle, clasp, clasp smb. in one's arms, cuddle, embosom, embrace, encircle, enclasp, enfold, fold in one's arms, give a hug, give smb. a hug, hug, infold, snuggle, strain smb. to one's breast), kucaklama (clasp, cuddle, embrace, embracing, hug, hugging, squeeze), öpmek (kiss, osculate), öpme (kiss, kissing, osculation). (various references) | |
Turkmen | yzgyt (affection), hцre-kцюe (affection). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | голубити (canoodle, cosset, pet), вияв ніжності, ласка (affection, endearment, fondling, odor, odour, tenderness, weasel), пестощі (petting), пестити (brood, canoodle, cherish, cosher, cosset, dandle, embosom, fondle, groom, nourish, nurse, nuzzle, pet, pettle, spoil). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sự vuốt ve (cuddle, stroke), sự mơn trớn, sự âu yếm (cuddle, lovingness, necking). (various references) | |
Welsh | pratio (pat, stroke), llochi (fondle, stroke), anwylo (cherish, fondle), anwesu (cherish, fondle, indulge, pamper), anwes (fondling, fondness, indulgence). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | admulcere, adulare, blandior, blanditiis, foveo, foveo, fovi, fotum. (various references) |
| Italian | 900-Modern | carezzare. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "caress": caressed, caresser, caressers, caresses, caressing, caressingly, caressive, caressively. (additional references) | |
| |
"Caress" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: acrass, acrss, Cabrisas, carass, careds, carees, caresse, carest, Carissa, Carozzi, carress, carrozza, Caures, cervezas, cires, Cutress, karass, Karezza. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: carses, crases, escars, scares, seracs. | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-r-s-s" | |
-1 letter: acres, arses, cares, carse, cases, crass, cress, escar, races, rases, scare, scars, sears, serac. | |
-2 letters: aces, acre, arcs, ares, arse, care, cars, case, cess, ears, eras, race, rase, recs, sacs, scar, sear, seas, secs, sera, sers. | |
-3 letters: ace, arc, are, ars, ass, car, ear, era, ers, ess, ras, rec, res, sac, sae, sea. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-r-s-s" | |
+1 letter: actress, ancress, arcuses, caesars, carless, caserns, casters, causers, cesuras, chasers, classer, crashes, crasser, creases, escarps, eschars, parsecs, recasts, sackers, saucers, scalers, scarers, scarves, scleras, scrapes, screaks, screams, secpars, spacers, sucrase. | |
+2 letters: accusers, actressy, archness, arcsines, arsenics, ascribes, caesuras, carcases, careless, caressed, caresser, caresses, carouses, casernes, cashiers, cateress, cerastes, charases, chasseur, clashers, claspers, classers, classier, coarsens, coarsest, coasters, corsages, crashers, crassest, creasers, crevasse, crusades, escapers, escolars, fracases, lacrosse, massacre, narcoses, precasts, rachises, raciness, reclasps, recusals, rescales, respaces, restacks, scalares, scalpers, scampers, scanners, scarcest, scariest, scariose, scarless, scarlets, scarpers, scatters, scaupers, schmears, scrapers, scrapies, searches, seculars, sidecars, slackers, smackers, socagers, solacers, stackers, starches, subraces, sucrases, surcease, surfaces. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Fiction 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Translations: Ancient | 13. Derivations 14. Anagrams 15. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
