TOUCH

touch, touching

(noun) the act of putting two things together with no space between them; “at his touch the room filled with lights”

touch, signature

(noun) a distinguishing style; “this room needs a woman’s touch”

touch

(noun) the feel of mechanical action; “this piano has a wonderful touch”

touch

(noun) deftness in handling matters; “he has a master’s touch”

touch, sense of touch, skin senses, touch modality, cutaneous senses

(noun) the faculty by which external objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body (especially the hands); “only sight and touch enable us to locate objects in the space around us”

touch, touch sensation, tactual sensation, tactile sensation, feeling

(noun) the sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin; “she likes the touch of silk on her skin”; “the surface had a greasy feeling”

touch, trace, ghost

(noun) a suggestion of some quality; “there was a touch of sarcasm in his tone”; “he detected a ghost of a smile on her face”

touch

(noun) the act of soliciting money (as a gift or loan); “he watched the beggar trying to make a touch”

contact, touch

(noun) a communicative interaction; “the pilot made contact with the base”; “he got in touch with his colleagues”

touch, touching

(noun) the event of something coming in contact with the body; “he longed for the touch of her hand”; “the cooling touch of the night air”

touch, hint, tinge, mite, pinch, jot, speck, soupcon

(noun) a slight but appreciable amount; “this dish could use a touch of garlic”

touch, spot

(noun) a slight attack of illness; “he has a touch of rheumatism”

affect, impact, bear upon, bear on, touch on, touch

(verb) have an effect upon; “Will the new rules affect me?”

tint, tinct, tinge, touch

(verb) color lightly; “her greying hair was tinged blond”; “the leaves were tinged red in November”

touch

(verb) comprehend; “He could not touch the meaning of the poem”

allude, touch, advert

(verb) make a more or less disguised reference to; “He alluded to the problem but did not mention it”

touch, adjoin, meet, contact

(verb) be in direct physical contact with; make contact; “The two buildings touch”; “Their hands touched”; “The wire must not contact the metal cover”; “The surfaces contact at this point”

touch

(verb) make physical contact with, come in contact with; “Touch the stone for good luck”; “She never touched her husband”

touch

(verb) cause to be in brief contact with; “He touched his toes to the horse’s flanks”

touch, disturb

(verb) tamper with; “Don’t touch my CDs!”

touch, stir

(verb) affect emotionally; “A stirring movie”; “I was touched by your kind letter of sympathy”

touch

(verb) perceive via the tactile sense; “Helen Keller felt the physical world by touching people and objects around her”

touch

(verb) deal with; usually used with a form of negation; “I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole”; “The local Mafia won’t touch gambling”

equal, touch, rival, match

(verb) be equal to in quality or ability; “Nothing can rival cotton for durability”; “Your performance doesn’t even touch that of your colleagues”; “Her persistence and ambition only matches that of her parents”

refer, pertain, relate, concern, come to, bear on, touch, touch on, have to do with

(verb) be relevant to; “There were lots of questions referring to her talk”; “My remark pertained to your earlier comments”

reach, extend to, touch

(verb) to extend as far as; “The sunlight reached the wall”; “Can he reach?”; “The chair must not touch the wall”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

touch (third-person singular simple present touches, present participle touching, simple past and past participle touched)

Primarily physical senses.

(transitive) To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with. [from 14th c.]

(transitive) To come into (involuntary) contact with; to meet or intersect. [from 14th c.]

(intransitive) To come into physical contact, or to be in physical contact. [from 14th c.]

(intransitive) To make physical contact with a thing. [from 14th c.]

(transitive) To physically disturb; to interfere with, molest, or attempt to harm through contact. [from 14th c.]

(transitive) To cause to be briefly in contact with something.

(transitive) To physically affect in specific ways implied by context. [from 15th c.]

(transitive) To consume, or otherwise use. [from 15th c.]

(intransitive) Of a ship or its passengers: to land, to make a short stop (at). [from 16th c.]

(transitive, now, historical) To lay hands on (someone suffering from scrofula) as a form of cure, as formerly practised by English and French monarchs. [from 17th c.]

(transitive or reflexive) To sexually excite with the fingers; to finger or masturbate. [from 20th c.]

(intransitive, obsolete) To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.

(nautical) To bring (a sail) so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

(intransitive, nautical) To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

(nautical) To keep the ship as near (the wind) as possible.

Primarily non-physical senses.

(transitive) To imbue or endow with a specific quality. [from 14th c.]

(transitive, archaic) To deal with in speech or writing; to mention briefly, to allude to. [from 14th c.]

(intransitive) To deal with in speech or writing; briefly to speak or write (on or upon something). [from 14th c.]

(transitive) To concern, to have to do with. [14th-19th c.]

(transitive) To affect emotionally; to bring about tender or painful feelings in. [from 14th c.]

(transitive, dated) To affect in a negative way, especially only slightly. [from 16th c.]

(transitive, Scottish history) To give royal assent to by touching it with the sceptre. [from 17th c.]

(transitive, slang) To obtain money from, usually by borrowing (from a friend). [from 18th c.]

(transitive, always passive) To disturb the mental functions of; to make somewhat insane; often followed with "in the head". [from 18th c.]

(transitive, in negative constructions) To be on the level of; to approach in excellence or quality. [from 19th c.]

(transitive) To come close to; to approach.

(transitive, computing) To mark (a file or document) as having been modified.

To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.

To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.

(obsolete) To infect; to affect slightly.

To strike; to manipulate; to play on.

To perform, as a tune; to play.

To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.

Noun

touch (countable and uncountable, plural touches)

An act of touching, especially with the hand or finger.

The faculty or sense of perception by physical contact.

The style or technique with which one plays a musical instrument.

(music) The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers.

A distinguishing feature or characteristic.

A little bit; a small amount.

The part of a sports field beyond the touchlines or goal-lines.

A relationship of close communication or understanding.

The ability to perform a task well; aptitude.

(obsolete) Act or power of exciting emotion.

(obsolete) An emotion or affection.

• Hooker

(obsolete) Personal reference or application.

A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.

(obsolete) A brief essay.

(obsolete) A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.

(obsolete) Examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.

(shipbuilding) The broadest part of a plank worked top and but, or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters.

The children's game of tag.

(bell-ringing) A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, i.e. less than 5,040.

(slang) An act of borrowing or stealing something.

(UK, plumbing, dated) Tallow.

Form; standard of performance.

(Australian rules football) A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.

Anagrams

• chout, couth

Source: Wiktionary

Touch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Touched; p. pr. & vb. n. Touching.] Etym: [F. toucher, OF. touchier, tuchier; of Teutonic origin; cf. OHG. zucchen, zukken, to twitch, pluck, draw, G. zukken, zukken, v. intens. fr. OHG. ziohan to draw, G. ziehen, akin to E. tug. See Tuck, v. t., Tug, and cf. Tocsin, Toccata.]

1. To come in contact with; to hit or strike lightly against; to extend the hand, foot, or the like, so as to reach or rest on. Him thus intent Ithuriel with his spear Touched lightly. Milton.

2. To perceive by the sense of feeling. Nothing but body can be touched or touch. Greech.

3. To come to; to reach; to attain to. The god, vindictive, doomed them never more-Ah, men unblessed! -- to touch their natal shore. Pope.

4. To try; to prove, as with a touchstone. [Obs.] Wherein I mean to touch your love indeed. Shak.

5. To relate to; to concern; to affect. The quarrel toucheth none but us alone. Shak.

6. To handle, speak of, or deal with; to treat of. Storial thing that toucheth gentilesse. Chaucer.

7. To meddle or interfere with; as, I have not touched the books. Pope.

8. To affect the senses or the sensibility of; to move; to melt; to soften. What of sweet before Hath touched my sense, flat seems to this and harsh. Milton. The tender sire was touched with what he said. Addison.

9. To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush. The lines, though touched but faintly, are drawn right. Pope.

10. To infect; to affect slightly. Bacon.

11. To make an impression on; to have effect upon. Its face . . . so hard that a file will not touch it. Moxon.

12. To strike; to manipulate; to play on; as, to touch an instrument of music. [They] touched their golden harps. Milton.

13. To perform, as a tune; to play. A person is the royal retinue touched a light and lively air on the flageolet. Sir W. Scott.

14. To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly. " No decree of mine, . . . [to] touch with lightest moment of impulse his free will," Milton.

15. To harm, afflict, or distress. Let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee. Gen. xxvi. 28, 29.

16. To affect with insanity, especially in a slight degree; to make partially insane; -- rarely used except in the past participle. She feared his head was a little touched. Ld. Lytton.

17. (Geom.)

Definition: To be tangent to. See Tangent, a.

18. To lay a hand upon for curing disease. To touch a sail (Naut.), to bring it so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

– To touch the wind (Naut.), to keep the ship as near the wind as possible.

– To touch up, to repair; to improve by touches or emendation.

Touch, v. i.

1. To be in contact; to be in a state of junction, so that no space is between; as, two spheres touch only at points. Johnson.

2. To fasten; to take effect; to make impression. [R.] Strong waters pierce metals, and will touch upon gold, that will not touch upon silver. Bacon.

3. To treat anything in discourse, especially in a slight or casual manner; -- often with on or upon. If the antiquaries have touched upon it, they immediately quitted it. Addison.

4. (Naut)

Definition: To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes. To touch and go (Naut.), to touch bottom lightly and without damage, as a vessel in motion.

– To touch at, to come or go to, without tarrying; as, the ship touched at Lisbon.

– To touch on or upon, to come or go to for a short time. [R.] I made a little voyage round the lake, and touched on the several towns that lie on its coasts. Addison.

Touch, n. Etym: [Cf. F. touche. See Touch, v. ]

1. The act of touching, or the state of being touched; contact. Their touch affrights me as a serpent's sting. Shak.

2. (Physiol.)

Definition: The sense by which pressure or traction exerted on the skin is recognized; the sense by which the properties of bodies are determined by contact; the tactile sense. See Tactile sense, under Tactile. The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine. Pope.

Note: Pure tactile feelings are necessarily rare, since temperature sensations and muscular sensations are more or less combined with them. The organs of touch are found chiefly in the epidermis of the skin and certain underlying nervous structures.

3. Act or power of exciting emotion. Not alone The death of Fulvia, with more urgent touches, Do strongly speak to us. Shak.

4. An emotion or affection. A true, natural, and a sensible touch of mercy. Hooker.

5. Personal reference or application. [Obs.] Speech of touch toward others should be sparingly used. Bacon.

6. A stroke; as, a touch of raillery; a satiric touch; hence, animadversion; censure; reproof. I never bare any touch of conscience with greater regret. Eikon Basilike.

7. A single stroke on a drawing or a picture. Never give the least touch with your pencil till you have well examined your design. Dryden.

8. Feature; lineament; trait. Of many faces, eyes, and hearts, To have the touches dearest prized. Shak.

9. The act of the hand on a musical instrument; bence, in the plural, musical notes. Soft stillness and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony. Shak.

10. A small quantity intermixed; a little; a dash. Eyes La touch of Sir Peter Lely in them. Hazlitt. Madam, I have a touch of your condition. Shak.

11. A hint; a suggestion; slight notice. A small touch will put him in mind of them. Bacon.

12. A slight and brief essay. [Colloq.] Print my preface in such form as, in the booksellers' phrase, will make a sixpenny touch. Swift.

13. A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone. [Obs.] " Now do I play the touch." Shak. A neat new monument of touch and alabaster. Fuller.

14. Hence, examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality. Equity, the true touch of all laws. Carew. Friends of noble touch . Shak.

15. (Mus.)

Definition: The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers; as, a heavy touch, or a light touch, also, the manner of touching, striking, or pressing the keys of a piano; as, a legato touch; a staccato touch.

16. (Shipbilding)

Definition: The broadest part of a plank worked top and but (see Top and but, under Top, n.), or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters. J. Knowles.

17. (Football)

Definition: That part of the field which is beyond the line of flags on either side. Encyc. of Rural Sports.

18. A boys' game; tag. In touch (Football), outside of bounds. T. Hughes.

– To be in touch, to be in contact, or in sympathy.

– To keep touch. (a) To be true or punctual to a promise or engagement [Obs.]; hence, to fulfill duly a function. My mind and senses keep touch and time. Sir W. Scott. (b) To keep in contact; to maintain connection or sympathy;-with with or of.

– Touch and go, a phrase descriptive of a narrow escape.

– True as touch (i.e., touchstone), quite true. [Obs.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

TOUCH

Etymology

Verb

Noun

Anagrams

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