touch

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: 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, transitive verb, 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.— John 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.— Alexander Pope

4. To try; to prove, as with a touchstone. obsolete

Wherein I mean to touch your love indeed.— William Shakespeare

5. To relate to; to concern; to affect.

The quarrel toucheth none but us alone.— William Shakespeare

6. To handle, speak of, or deal with; to treat of.

Storial thing that toucheth gentilesse.— Geoffrey Chaucer

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

8. To affect the senses or the sensibility of; to move; to melt; to soften; especially, to cause feelings of pity, compassion, sympathy, or gratitude in.

What of sweet before Hath touched my sense, flat seems to this and harsh.— John Milton

The tender sire was touched with what he said.— Joseph 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.— Alexander Pope

10. To infect; to affect slightly. Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon

11. To make an impression on; to have effect upon.

Its face... so hard that a file will not touch it.— Joseph Moxon

12. To strike; to manipulate; to play on; as, to touch an instrument of music.

[They] touched their golden harps.— John 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 Walter Scott

14. To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly. “ No decree of mine,... [to] touch with lightest moment of impulse his free will,” John 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.— Edward George, Baron Lytton Bulwer-Lytton

17. Geometry To be tangent to. See Tangent, adjective

18. To lay a hand upon for curing disease.

19. To compare with; to be equal to; — usually with a negative; as, he held that for good cheer nothing could touch an open fire. colloquial

20. To induce to give or lend; to borrow from; as, to touch one for a loan; hence, to steal from. slang

To touch a sail Nautical, to bring it so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes. — To touch the wind Nautical, to keep the ship as near the wind as possible. — To touch up, to repair; to improve by touches or emendation.

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. Dr. Samuel Johnson

2. To fasten; to take effect; to make impression. rare

Strong waters pierce metals, and will touch upon gold, that will not touch upon silver.— Francis, Baron Verulam 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.— Joseph Addison

4. Nautical To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

To touch and go Nautical, 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 To touch upon, (a) to come or go to for a short time. rare I made a little voyage round the lake, and touched on the several towns that lie on its coasts. Joseph Addison (b) to discuss briefly, as only a small part of a discourse.

Origin: Cf. F. touche. See Touch, verb

1. The act of touching, or the state of being touched; contact.

Their touch affrights me as a serpent's sting.— William Shakespeare

2. Physiology 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.— Alexander Pope

☞ 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.— William Shakespeare

4. An emotion or affection.

A true, natural, and a sensible touch of mercy.— Richard Hooker

5. Personal reference or application. obsolete

Speech of touch toward others should be sparingly used.— Francis, Baron Verulam 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.— Portraiture of Charles I.

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.— John Dryden

8. Feature; lineament; trait.

Of many faces, eyes, and hearts, To have the touches dearest prized.— William Shakespeare

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.— William Shakespeare

10. A small quantity intermixed; a little; a dash.

Eyes La touch of Sir Peter Lely in them.— William Hazlitt

Madam, I have a touch of your condition.— William Shakespeare

11. A hint; a suggestion; slight notice.

A small touch will put him in mind of them.— Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon

12. A slight and brief essay. colloquial

Print my preface in such form as, in the booksellers' phrase, will make a sixpenny touch.— Jonathan Swift

13. A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone. obsolete “ Now do I play the touch.” William Shakespeare

A neat new monument of touch and alabaster.— Thomas Fuller

14. Hence, examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.

Equity, the true touch of all laws.— Carew, Richard

Friends of noble touch.— William Shakespeare

15. Music 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 The broadest part of a plank worked top and but (see Top and but, under Top, noun), 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. John. Knowles

17. Football That part of the field which is beyond the line of flags on either side.

18. A boys' game; tag.

19. Change Ringing A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, that is, less than 5,040.

20. An act of borrowing or stealing. slang

21. Tallow; — a plumber's term. British

In touch (a) Football, outside of bounds. Thomas Hughes (b) in communication; communicating, once or repeatedly. — To be in touch, (a) to be in contact, communication, or in sympathy. (b) to be aware of current events. — To keep touch. (a) To be true or punctual to a promise or engagement obsolete; hence, to fulfill duly a function.

My mind and senses keep touch and time.— Sir Walter Scott

(b) To keep in contact; to maintain connection or sympathy; — with with or of. Also to keep in touch. — Touch and go, a phrase descriptive of a narrow escape. — True as touch (i. e., touchstone), quite true. obsolete

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC, 1913 supplement, GCIDE editors