Touch , n.
1. (Change Ringing) A set of changes less than the
total possible on seven bells, that is, less
than 5,040.
2. An act of
borrowing or stealing.
[Slang]
3. Tallow; -- a plumber's term. [Eng.]
Touch , v. t. 1. To
compare with; of be equal to; -- usually with a negative; as, he held that for good
cheer nothing could touch an open fire. [Colloq.]
2.
To induce to give or lend; to borrow from; as, to touch one for a loan; hence, to steal from. [Slang]
Touch , n. [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.) 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. &fist; 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.) 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. J. Knowles.
17. (Football) 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.]
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) 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 (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Touched (?);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Touching.]
[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.) 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.
Hear it pronounced