In the Tekstaro ĉirkaŭpreni has substantially more hits than ĉirkaŭbraki which in turn has more hits than brakumi.

Yes, nestiĝi will do fine for certain uses of snuggle.

How do you distinguish between karesumi/karesadi (petting/stroking) and cuddling?

sudanglo:In the Tekstaro ĉirkaŭpreni has substantially more hits than ĉirkaŭbraki which in turn has more hits than brakumi.

I am not that familiar with the origins of tekstaro. Maybe it covers more prosaic language?

In the spoken or e-mailed language you definetly hear or read more "brakumi" than "ĉirkaŭpreni".

It's very common to close an e-mail or text message to a closed friend with

"brakume

"

Yes, nestiĝi will do fine for certain uses of snuggle.

+1

How do you distinguish between karesumi/karesadi (petting/stroking) and cuddling?

"karesi" = "pet"
"karesumi" = "cuddle"

dorlotumi might also be an idea.

erinja:dorlotumi might also be an idea.

Hmm, "dorlot-" to me is a different concept. "kares-" is definetly something physical, whereas "dorlot-" can be something completely non physical. Moreover "dorlot-" is per se somewhat negative, whereas "kares-" can be negative only in some specific contexts.

For example:

"Oni ne povas troe karesi siajn infanojn, sed oni prefere ne dorlotu ilin per tro da donacoj."

Maybe someone can translate this to English.

johmue:

erinja:dorlotumi might also be an idea.

Hmm, "dorlot-" to me is a different concept. "kares-" is definetly something physical, whereas "dorlot-" can be something completely non physical. Moreover "dorlot-" is per se somewhat negative, whereas "kares-" can be negative only in some specific contexts.

For example:

"Oni ne povas troe karesi siajn infanojn, sed oni prefere ne dorlotu ilin per tro da donacoj."

Maybe someone can translate this to English.

"You can't over-cuddle your children, but you sure can over-coddle them."

It is very difficult to say exactly what karesumi means.

Does it mean heavy petting or smooching or cuddling or what. There appears to be very little usage on the net; it is not defined in NPIV; it is absent from the Tekstaro.

It is some form of hanky-panky connected with karesado. But the term is essentially vague.

Edit. Incidentally I was curious as to how Google Translate would cope with translating my post into other languages. This is the result in French.

Il est très difficile de dire exactement ce que signifie karesumi.

Est-ce que cela signifie pelotage ou se bécoter ou câlins ou quoi. Il semble y avoir très peu d'usage sur le net, il n'est pas défini dans NPIV, il est absent de la Tekstaro.

C'est une forme d'entourloupettes connecté avec karesado. Mais le terme est essentiellement vague.

What exactly goes on at a karesum-festo?

sudanglo:It is very difficult to say exactly what karesumi means.

Does it mean heavy petting or smooching or cuddling or what. There appears to be very little usage on the net; it is not defined in NPIV; it is absent from the Tekstaro.

It is some form of hanky-panky connected with karesado. But the term is essentially vague.

In my experience "karesumi" refers to intentional and consensual physical closeness of at least two people with the purpose of joy. It has however (in contrast to "seksumi" ) no sexual aspect.

I think I'd better write my definition in Esperanto, because I'm not that happy with my English.

Laŭ mia sperto "karesumi" signifas, ke minimume du homoj intentence kaj interkonsentite ĝuas korpan proksimecon al unu la alia(j). La karesumado ne havas (kontraste al "seksumado" ) seksajn aŭ erotikajn aspektojn.

BoriQa:How about the French verb: se blottir

snug in my blankets = blotti sous mes couvertures (in French)

Maybe we can us the root: blot-

bloti = to snuggle, to cuddle, to huddle
blotiĝi = to snuggle up (by oneself)
blotigi = to snuggle up (next to someone else)

I snuggled down into my sleeping-bag. = Mi blotiĝis en mia litsako.
I'm snuggling with my girlfriend. = Mi blotigas kun mia koramikino.

Since there isn't much consensus with the current roots, guess (just like in the 1930s) it will soon be time for a new root...

BoriQa:Since there isn't much consensus with the current roots, guess (just like in the 1930s) it will soon be time for a new root...

Not at all. The thing is that the existing roots (kares-, brak-, dorlot-, proksim-, nest-) mean slightly different things. There is no need for a new root, just because in English there happens to exist a root that can cover all the discussed Esperanto roots. That's a common thing in translation.

If there's a new root coming up, fine. But again: new roots are not coming up, when a beginner sugessts one in the English lernu-forum.

Sudangulo:What exactly goes on at a karesum-festo?

Well, people cuddle.

It is inspired from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuddle_party. However the Esperanto style kresumfestoj are a bit different, since the participants usually or mostly already know each other. My favourite style is to bind a projector to a chair something to project a movie to the ceiling. Then people cuddle on mattresses on the floor while watching the movie.

johmue: However the Esperanto style kresumfestoj are a bit different, since the participants usually or mostly already know each other. My favourite style is to bind a projector to a chair something to project a movie to the ceiling. Then people cuddle on mattresses on the floor while watching the movie.

That sounds hilarious! With that image in mind, karesumi must surely mean hanky-panky!