Etymograph

English

kiss

Kiss comes from Middle English kissen ‘to kiss’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kw(e)s-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kw(e)s-1‘to kiss’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kussaz2reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kussijaną3‘to kiss’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kussijan3‘to kiss’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150cyssan3‘to kiss’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kissen3‘to kiss’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592kiss3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kussaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kussijaną
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English kiss
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “He […] kissed her lips with such a clamorous…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kw(e)s-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kussaz‘to kiss’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kussazWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kussijanąreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kussijanąWiktionary, English kiss‘to kiss’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kussijanWiktionary, English kiss‘to kiss’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150cyssanWiktionary, English kiss‘to kiss’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kissenWiktionary, English kiss‘to kiss’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592kissWiktionary, English kiss. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “He […] kissed her lips with such a clamorous…”

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Another origin of kiss

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kis
  2. Englishtodaykiss

From Middle English kis, kys, kus, forms of cos influenced by kissen, from Old English coss, from Proto-West Germanic *koss, from Proto-Germanic *kussaz.

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Today it means

verb To touch with the lips or press the lips against, usually to show love or affection or passion, or as part of a greeting.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kiss”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *kussaz, Proto-Germanic *kussijaną. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kw(e)s- / kiss