Kiss

A kiss (from Old English cyssan "to kiss", in turn from coss "a kiss", perhaps onomatopoeic) is the touching of the lips to some other thing; usually another person.

Kisses in history, art and literature

• In the gospels, Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss - a subversive use of the kiss, as it is a symbol of affection.
• The last words of British naval commander Horatio, Lord Nelson, are said to have been 'Kiss me Hardy!' to one of his subordinates.
• In the fairytale Sleeping Beauty and the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea, a romantic kiss is used by a male to awaken or breath life into a female, which feminist critics have interpreted as symbolising the suspect idea that women don't have much of a life unless their sexuality is awakened through the attention of men. The Matrix turns the tables on this motif when Trinity kisses the sleeping main character Neo, bringing him back to life at the end of the movie.
• In the Frog Prince fairytale, it is the male who is transformed from frog to man by a romantic kiss.
• Gustav Klimt painted a work entitled The Kiss.
• The Turkish 1997 hit song Simarik has a chorus that ends with two kiss sounds. The Australian cover version is even titled Kiss Kiss.
• Auguste Rodin created the sculpture The Kiss (Le Baiser).