A French kiss is a kiss

Kiss

A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...

 in which one participant's tongue

Tongue

The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...

 touches the partner's lips or tongue and usually enters his or her mouth. A French kiss is a slow passionate kiss which is usually considered intimate, romantic, erotic or sexual

Human sexuality

Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...

. A French kiss is generally considered an erotic kiss usually reserved for lovers.

In many parts of the world, this kind of kissing as a public display of affection

Public display of affection

Public displays of affection are acts of physical intimacy in the view of others. What are acceptable displays of affection vary between cultures as well as to time and context. Which acts are acceptable have also varied over time...

 is discouraged and may even be regarded as taboo. A French kiss is often used in cinema to indicate sexual desire between lovers.

Etymology

It is believed that a French kiss is so-called because at the beginning of the 20th century the French had a reputation for more adventurous and passionate sex practices. In France, it is referred to as baiser amoureux ("love kiss") or baiser avec la langue ("kiss with the tongue"), even if in past times it was also known as baiser florentin ("Florentine

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 kiss"). In French slang, a French kiss is called a patin (ice skating shoe) or a galoche (wooden-soled shoe). Doing a French kiss is referred to rouler un patin ("roll a skate", as in ice skating shoe) or rouler une pelle ("roll a shovel") or s'emballer in slang.

A French kiss is referred to in Private Lindner’s Letters, a collection of items gathered during World War I and published in 1939:

Erotic kiss

A "kiss with the tongue" stimulates the partner's lips, tongue and mouth, which are sensitive to the touch. The practice is often considered a source of pleasure. The oral zone is one of the principal erogenous zone

Erogenous zone

An erogenous zone is an area of the human body that has heightened sensitivity, the stimulation of which may result in the production of erotic sensations or sexual excitement.People have erogenous zones all over their bodies, but which areas are more sensitive than others vary...

s of the body, and the tongue is more erogenous than the lips.

Researchers report that French kissing of many partners during adolescence can significantly increase the risk of meningitis

Meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...

. However, this is probably due to kissing increasing the risk of getting mononucleosis and mononucleosis having the chance to develop into meningitis.