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Touch   /tətʃ/   Listen
noun
Touch  n.  
1.
The act of touching, or the state of being touched; contact. "Their touch affrights me as a serpent's sting."
2.
(Physiol.) 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." 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."
4.
An emotion or affection. "A true, natural, and a sensible touch of mercy."
5.
Personal reference or application. (Obs.) "Speech of touch toward others should be sparingly used."
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."
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."
8.
Feature; lineament; trait. "Of many faces, eyes, and hearts, To have the touches dearest prized."
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."
10.
A small quantity intermixed; a little; a dash. "Eyes La touch of Sir Peter Lely in them." "Madam, I have a touch of your condition."
11.
A hint; a suggestion; slight notice. "A small touch will put him in mind of them."
12.
A slight and brief essay. (Colloq.) "Print my preface in such form as, in the booksellers' phrase, will make a sixpenny touch."
13.
A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone. (Obs.) " Now do I play the touch." "A neat new monument of touch and alabaster."
14.
Hence, examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality. "Equity, the true touch of all laws." "Friends of noble touch."
15.
(Mus.) 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, 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.
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. (Eng.)
In touch
(a)
(Football) outside of bounds.
(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 (Obs.); hence, to fulfill duly a function. "My mind and senses keep touch and time."
(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. (Obs.)


verb
Touch  v. t.  (past & past part. touched; pres. part. touching)  
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."
2.
To perceive by the sense of feeling. "Nothing but body can be touched or touch."
3.
To come to; to reach; to attain to. "The god, vindictive, doomed them never more- Ah, men unblessed! to touch their natal shore."
4.
To try; to prove, as with a touchstone. (Obs.) "Wherein I mean to touch your love indeed."
5.
To relate to; to concern; to affect. "The quarrel toucheth none but us alone."
6.
To handle, speak of, or deal with; to treat of. "Storial thing that toucheth gentilesse."
7.
To meddle or interfere with; as, I have not touched the books.
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." "The tender sire was touched with what he said."
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."
10.
To infect; to affect slightly.
11.
To make an impression on; to have effect upon. "Its face... so hard that a file will not touch it."
12.
To strike; to manipulate; to play on; as, to touch an instrument of music. "(They) touched their golden harps."
13.
To perform, as a tune; to play. "A person is the royal retinue touched a light and lively air on the flageolet."
14.
To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly. " No decree of mine,... (to) touch with lightest moment of impulse his free will,"
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."
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."
17.
(Geom.) To be tangent to. See Tangent, a.
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. (Colloq.)
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 (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.
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."
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."
4.
(Naut) 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 To touch upon,
(a)
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."
(b)
to discuss briefly, as only a small part of a discourse.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Touch" Quotes from Famous Books



... effort across the room to where his master sat and laid his head upon his master's knee. And there was a puzzled look upon Bielfrak's face, for never before had he thus manifested the love that was in his honest heart without finding a quick response to it in the gentle touch of his master's hand. Yet now that hand remained most strangely still, and it was strangely white, and Bielfrak drew back suddenly from touching it—finding ...
— An Idyl Of The East Side - 1891 • Thomas A. Janvier
... sudden, swift opening of the door, and Carr sprang in like a cat, his hand on the butt of his revolver, still obeying that first governing law of his merciless life—caution, Falkner was so near that he could reach out and touch Carr, and in an instant he was at his enemy's throat. Not a cry fell from Carr's lips. There was death in the terrible grip of Falkner's hands, and like one whose neck had been broken Carr sank to the floor. Falkner's grip tightened, and he did ...
— Back to God's Country and Other Stories • James Oliver Curwood
... she was given a new name, a lucky one, which saved her; and that was when she was a small girl. None of us were sick now, yet hear how we were treated! Those gendarmes and nurses always shouted their commands at us from a distance, as fearful of our touch as if ...
— The Promised Land • Mary Antin
... great uncertainty of his fate, he at length perceived himself near the shore, and not far from a city that seemed of great extent. He exerted his remaining strength to reach the land, and was at length so fortunate as to be able to touch the ground with his feet. He immediately abandoned his piece of wood, which had been of such great service to him; but when he came pretty near the shore, was greatly surprised to see horses, camels, mules, asses, oxen, cows, bulls, and other ...
— The Arabian Nights Entertainments vol. 3 • Anon.
... dream-time of the year, Our bitter murmurs cease;— We seem to feel the presence of the dead, Their shadowy touch of peace; We seem to see their faces as we gaze Longingly forth into the purple haze, And hear the distant chorus of the happy souls at rest,— And catch the well-known accents of the voice we loved ...
— The Old Stone House • Anne March


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