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Kiss
as a mode of salutation, comes from its use to express
reverence or worship. Thus to adore idols and to kiss idols mean the
same thing. Indeed, the word adore signifies simply to carry the
hand to the mouth, that is, to kiss it to the idol. We still
kiss the hand in salutation. Various parts of the body are kissed to
distinguish the character of the adoration paid. Thus, to kiss the lips
is to adore the living breath of the person saluted; to kiss the feet
or ground is to humble oneself in adoration; to kiss the garments is to
express veneration to whatever belongs to or touches the person who
wears them. “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry” (Ps. ii. 12), means
Worship the Son of God. Pharaoh tells Joseph, “Thou shalt be over my
house, and upon thy mouth shall all my people kiss,” meaning they shall
reverence the commands of Joseph by kissing the roll on which his
commands would be written. “Samuel poured oil on Saul, and kissed him,”
to acknowledge subjection to God's anointed (1 Sam. x. 1). In the
Hebrew state, this mode of expressing reverence arose from the form of
government established, whether under the patriarchal or matrimonial
figure.
A Judas kiss.
An act of treachery. The allusion is to the apostle Judas, who
betrayed his Master with a kiss.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Kiss from Infoplease:
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