caress

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French caresse,^[2][3][4][5] recorded in the 16th century^[2][6] and in Middle French also as charesse and carresse,^[7] from Italian carezza (“endearment, fondness”),^[2][3][4] formed from caro (“dear, beloved”) and the suffix -ezza,^[7] which goes back to Latin -itia.^[7] The OED and Dictionary.com reconstruct a Latin form *cāritia,^[2][8][5] and Etymonline allows that the French noun is a back-formation from caresser.^[6] The verb is borrowed from French caresser,^[2][7][4][6] from carezzare (“to cherish”),^[2][7][6] from carezza.^[7][2] The Shorter Oxford allows that the verb was also formed from the English noun.^[9] The Italian adjective is from Latin cārus (“dear”),^[3][7][4] which the American Heritage Dictionary and Etymonline trace to Proto-Indo-European *kā- (“to like, desire”).^[3][6] It is related to charity and cherish.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To treat with fondness or kindness: Merriam-Webster's first date for the verb is 1598, and for the noun, as an act or expression of kindness, 1609.^[7] Other dictionaries date the word later: Dictionary.com 1605–15,^[8] Barnhart 1647 for the noun as a show of regard and 1658 for the verb, in Milton,^[4] Etymonline the 1640s and 1650s,^[6] and the OED 1651 for the noun and 1679 for the verb.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word first expressed regard or favour in general, and the physical touch came later: Etymonline and Barnhart date the noun "show of regard" to the 1640s, and "affectionate stroke" to the 1650s.^[6][4] In the OED, too, the verb's sense of stroking someone tenderly (1697) follows the sense of treating someone with favour (1682), which is now archaic.^[2] For a short time, from 1679 to 1699, the verb could also mean providing someone with entertainment or food at one's own expense.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined the verb as "to endear; to fondle; to treat with kindness" and the noun as "an act of endearment; an expression of tenderness", quoting Milton's "conjugal caresses".^[10] Figurative uses are recorded for the noun from before 1657 and for the verb from about 1746.^[2]

Timeline

• 1598 – verb, to treat with fondness or kindness.^[7] The OED first has this sense in 1682.^[2]
• 1609 – noun, an act or expression of kindness.^[7] Barnhart first has it in 1647.^[4]
• 1651 – noun, a fondling touch.^[2][4]
• before 1657 – noun, figurative.^[2]
• 1679 – verb, to entertain someone at one's own expense (obsolete by 1699).^[2]
• 1683 – verb, used without an object.^[2]
• 1697 – verb, to touch or stroke tenderly.^[2]
• c. 1746 – verb, figurative or transferred.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A gentle, loving touch or embrace; a kiss: He answered with a caress of her cheek.^[11][7][9]
2. An act or expression of kindness or affection; an endearment.^[7][2]

Verb

1. To touch or stroke gently and lovingly; to fondle: She caressed the sleeping baby's hair.^[11][7][2]
2. To touch or affect as gently as a caress: A cool breeze caressed the terrace.^[11][7][9]
3. (archaic) To treat with fondness or favour; to make much of.^[2][7]

Word family

• caresser
• caressingly
• caressive
• caressively
• caressable
• uncaressed

Related words

• charity
• cherish

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins