Ōs'cu-lant, a.

a. [Lat. osculans, p. pr. of osculari, to kiss, from osculum, a little mouth, kiss, diminutive of os, mouth.]

1. Adhering closely; embracing;—applied to certain creeping animals, as caterpillars.
2. (Classification.) Intermediate in character, or on the border between two groups; as, the genera by which two families approximate are called osculant genera.

☞ The term inter-osculant is sometimes employed with the same meaning. Dana.