An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Kuß

by Friedrich Kluge

Kuß, masculine, ‘kiss,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German kus (genitive kusses); corresponding to Dutch kus, Old Saxon cus, cos (genitive -sses), Anglo-Saxon coss, Old Icelandic koss, masculine; a common Teutonic word for ‘kiss,’ wanting only in Gothic (*kussus, compare Gothic kukjan, East Frisian kükken, ‘to kiss’). A pre-Teutonic root gut, gud, ‘to kiss,’ does not occur. Indubitable cognates are not found in the non-Teutonic languages unless Irish bus, ‘lip,’ and Gaelic bus, ‘mouth with thick lips,’ are allied. —