Kissing someone affectionately, often with soft or gentle kisses; romantic or playful kissing.
Probably imitative or onomatopoetic in origin, mimicking the sound of a kiss. The word emerged in American English around the 1800s as informal slang, possibly influenced by Dutch or German, and remains casual and affectionate.
The word 'smooching' became popular exactly when Victorian society was loosening its strict rules about public displays of affection—the casual sound of it represented a more playful, less formal approach to romance that was scandalized by older generations.
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