Air kiss
Anair kiss,blown kiss,orthrown kissis aritualor socialgesturewhose meaning is basically the same as that of many forms ofkissing.The air kiss is a pretence of kissing: the lips are pursed as if kissing, but without actually touching the other person's body. Sometimes, the air kiss includes touching cheek-to-cheek. Also, the gesture may be accompanied by themwahsound.[1]Theonomatopoeicwordmwah(a representation of the sound of a kiss) has entered Webster's dictionary.[2]
Thecharacter blockUnicode 1F618provides the "emoji facethrowing a kiss 😘 "to computer screens.
Western culture[edit]
A symbolic kiss is frequent inWestern cultures.A kiss can be "blown" to another by kissing the fingertips and then blowing the fingertips, pointing them in the direction of the recipient. This is used to convey affection, usually when parting or when the partners are physically distant but can view each other. Blown kisses are also used when a person wishes to convey affection to a large crowd or audience. The termflying kissis used in India to describe a blown kiss.
North America[edit]
In North America and most western countries influenced by North America, air kisses are sometimes associated withglamour modelsand othercelebrities.It is a modifiedcheek kiss,involving kissing in the air near the cheek, with the cheeks touching the lips or not.[3]
Southeast Asia[edit]
InIndonesia,andMalaysia,it is common to air-kiss an elder's hand as a traditional form of respectful greeting. Instead of pursing one's lips, the younger person exhaling through his nose softly on the hand before drawing the hand to the younger person's forehead.
In thePhilippines,elder relatives traditionally kiss a younger relative's cheek in this same way, by exhaling gently through the nose when the younger relative's cheek is brought close.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"MWAH",the BBC programmeKeep Your English up to Date
- ^"MwahinWebster's New Millennium Dictionary of English
- ^Marie Sophie Hahnsson."Cheek Kissing".University of Oslo.Archived fromthe originalon 27 May 2008.Retrieved29 August2008.
External links[edit]
- "How to Air Kiss",a video
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