osculatrix

[ Eng.osculate; Lat. fem. suff. Geom.: A curve which has a higher order of contact with a given curve, at a given point, than any other curve of the same kind. os-cule, subst. [OSCULUM.) A small bilabiate opening. os-cu-lum ( pl. os-cu-la), s. [Lat. dim in. of osa mouth.] Zoology : (Usually in plural.) 1. The large apertures by which a sponge is perforated, and through which the water taken in at the pores is expelled; exhalant apertures. In some of the Calcispongise there is but a single osculum. 2. The suckers of the Tæniada means of which these worms attach themselves to the mucous membrane of the intestinal canal. -ōse, suff . [Lat.- osus full of; abounding in.] Chem.: A termination used in saccharine compounds containing hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion to form water. Thus, Glucose=C6H12O6 =C6+C(H2O). ing. ( Tatler, No. 63.) õs-cu-lạ, s. pl. [OSCULUM.]