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an act or gesture expressing affection, as an embrace or kiss, especially a light stroking or touching.
to touch or pat gently to show affection.
to touch, stroke, etc., lightly, as if in affection:
The breeze caressed the trees.
to treat with favor, kindness, etc.
Contemporary Examples

Had one reached out and caressed the other, would that have been an assault?
Why These Marines Love ‘Frozen’—and Why It Matters Aaron B. O’Connell June 26, 2014

“If you wanted to make it with somebody, you reached over and caressed their leg,” said Levenson.
The Studio 54 of Sex Jon Hart April 6, 2009

He climbed down from the chair and squatting on the floor, took the creature into his arms and caressed her.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show Robert W. Chambers February 19, 2014

There was a way that it caressed her body and the pleats hung just so, brushing the tops of her feet like a soft whisper.
My Mother’s Last Sari Madhulika Sikka May 6, 2010

Historical Examples

Those who were saluted her with admiring looks and generally treated her as a heroine, which caressed her vanity most pleasantly.
The White Terror and The Red Abraham Cahan

He drank; and again as they were near together he caressed her.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930 Various

Much alarmed, Violet caressed her, and tried to soothe her with gentle words, and at last they unlocked her lips.
Heartsease Charlotte M. Yonge

He was blubbering in her arms, hysterically, as she caressed him.
The Adventurer Cyril M. Kornbluth

Her hand, small and childlike, though less round and soft than it had been two years ago, caressed my cheek when I bent over her.
The Romance of a Plain Man Ellen Glasgow

Now, suddenly, he caressed it, he resolved to act on its prompting.
A Spirit in Prison Robert Hichens

noun
a gentle touch or embrace, esp one given to show affection
verb
(transitive) to touch or stroke gently with affection or as with affection: the wind caressed her face
n.

1640s, “show of endearment, display of regard,” from French caresse (16c.), back-formation from caresser or else from Italian carezza “endearment,” from caro “dear,” from Latin carus “dear, costly, beloved” (see whore (n.)). Meaning “affectionate stroke” attested in English from 1650s.
v.

1650s, from French caresser, from Italian carezzare “to cherish,” from carezza “endearment” (see caress (n.)). Related: Caressed; caressing.