A kiss is the action of pressing one’s lips against the lips or another body part of another person or object. The word derives from the Old English ‘cyssan’, ‘to kiss,’ which derives from ‘coss,’ ‘a kiss’.
The natural historian Ernest Crawley researched the origins of the kiss in the early 20th century and noted that that act was infrequent among the “lower and semi-civilised races” but was “fully established as instinctive in the higher societies”. However, Crawley also noted differences within the higher civilisations; whilst the kiss was well established in early Assyria, India, and Greece, it was unknown to ancient Egypt. Crawley concurs with the 19th century anthropologist Cesare Lombroso’s opinion that the kiss of lovers originated and evolved from the maternal kiss. Crawley notes that pre 20th century Japanese society was “ignorant of the kiss except as applied by a mother to her infant”.
Kissing is a rather important expression of erotic emotions and love. In Kristoffer Nyrop’s book, The Kiss and its History, Nyrop describes a kiss motivated by love as an “exultant message of the longing of love, love eternally young, the burning prayer of hot desire, which is born on the lovers’ lips, and rises.” Best pop to the florists after!
Reader Commentary
No one have commented so far.
There are currently no comments. Come on be the first one!
Leave a comment