touch
verb/tʌt͡ʃ/ · /tɛt͡ʃ/
Etymology
From Middle English touchen, tochen, from Old French tochier (“to touch”) (whence Modern French toucher; compare French doublet toquer (“to offend, bother, harass”)), from Vulgar Latin *tuccō (“to knock, strike, offend”), from Frankish *tukkōn (“to knock, strike, touch”), from Proto-Germanic *tukkōną (“to tug, grab, grasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull, lead”). Largely displaced native Middle English rinen, from Old English hrīnan (whence Modern English rine). Doublet of tuck. Cognates Cognate with Old High German zochhōn, zuhhōn (“to grasp, take, seize, snatch”) (whence German zucken (“to jerk, flinch”)), German Low German tucken, tocken (“to fidget, twitch, pull up, entice, throb, knock, repeatedly tap”), Middle Dutch tocken, tucken (“to touch, entice”) (whence Dutch tokkelen (“to strum, pluck”)), Old English tucian, tūcian (“to disturb, mistreat”) (whence Modern English tuck). Compare also Old High German tokkōn, tockōn (“to abut, collide”). More at tuck. Via Proto-Indo-European *dewk- cognate with English tie, tow, tug, team, Latin dūcō, dux.
36 senses
- 1To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger…
- 2To come into (involuntary) contact with; to meet or intersect.
- 3To come into physical contact, or to be in physical contact.
- 4To make physical contact with a thing.
- 5To physically disturb; to interfere with, molest, or…
- 6To make intimate physical contact with a person.
- 7To sexually excite with the fingers; to finger or masturbate.
- 8To have sexual intercourse with
- 9To cause to be briefly in physical contact with something.
- 10To physically affect in specific ways implied by context.
- 11To begin to consume, or otherwise use.
- 12Of a ship or its passengers: to land, to make a short stop (at).
- 13To lay hands on (someone suffering from scrofula) as a…
- 14To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.
- 15To bring (a sail) so close to the wind that its weather…
- 16To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its…
- 17To keep the ship as near (the wind) as possible.
- 18To imbue or endow with a specific quality.
- 19To deal with in speech or writing; to mention briefly…
- 20To deal with in speech or writing; briefly to speak or…
- 21To concern, to have to do with.
- 22To engage with, to be involved with.
- 23To affect emotionally; to bring about tender or painful…
- 24To affect in a negative way, especially only slightly.
- 25To give royal assent to by touching it with the sceptre.
- 26To obtain money from, usually by borrowing (from a friend).
- 27To disturb the mental functions of; to make somewhat…
- 28To be on the level of; to approach in excellence or quality.
- 29To come close to; to approach.
- 30To mark (a file or document) as having been modified.
- 31To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.
- 32To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight…
- 33To infect; to affect slightly.
- 34To strike; to manipulate; to play on.
- 35To perform, as a tune; to play.
- 36To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.
› Primarily physical senses.
To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with.
- I touched his face softly.
- While thus she spake, / She toucht his eye-lashes with libant lip / And breath'd ambrosial odours; […]1803, Walter Savage Landor, “Book VI”, in Gebir; a Poem: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Slatter and Munday; and sold by R. S. Kirby, […], →OCLC, page 107:
To come into (involuntary) contact with; to meet or intersect.
- Sitting on the bench, the hem of her skirt touched the ground.
To come into physical contact, or to be in physical contact.
- They stood next to each other, their shoulders touching.
To make physical contact with a thing.
- Please can I have a look, if I promise not to touch?
To physically disturb; to interfere with, molest, or attempt to harm through contact.
- If you touch her, I'll kill you.
- Let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 27:28-29:
To make intimate physical contact with a person.
- The man was arrested for touching a girl without her consent.
Rare To sexually excite with the fingers; to finger or masturbate.
- Her parents had caught her touching herself when she was fifteen.
To have sexual intercourse with
- Tell me the truth, did you touch her?
To cause to be briefly in physical contact with something.
- He quickly touched his knee to the worn marble.
- The demonstrator nearly touched the rod on the ball.
1 more example
- She touched her lips to the glass.
To physically affect in specific ways implied by context.
- Frankly, this wood's so strong that sandpaper won't touch it.
To begin to consume, or otherwise use.
- Are you all right? You've hardly touched your lunch.
- But Richmond[…]appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw[…]that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
Of a ship or its passengers: to land, to make a short stop (at).
- Now a certain grand merchant ship once touched at Rokovoko, and its commander — from all accounts, a very stately punctilious gentleman, at least for a sea captain — this commander was invited to the wedding feast of Queequeg's sister, a pretty young princess just turned of ten.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
Historical To lay hands on (someone suffering from scrofula) as a form of cure, as formerly practised by English and French monarchs.
- But in fact the English kings of the seventeenth century usually began to touch form the day of their accession, without waiting for any such consecration.1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 189:
Obsolete To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.
- Strong waters pierce metals, and will touch upon gold, that will not touch upon silver.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
› Primarily non-physical senses.
To imbue or endow with a specific quality.
- My grandfather, as many people know, was touched with greatness.
- This year, J. Allen Collier, the artistic director and producer, invited choreographers to create dance pieces exploring the multi-faceted responses to the AIDS crisis. This thematic unity touched the show with additional solemnity and grace.1988 April 9, Vicki Gabriner, “Dancing for the Living and the Dead”, in Gay Community News, page 6:
Archaic To deal with in speech or writing; to mention briefly, to allude to.
- Next to sorrow still I may annex such accidents as procure fear; for besides those terrors which I have before touched, […] there is a superstitious fear […] which much trouble many of us., I.2.4.vii
To deal with in speech or writing; briefly to speak or write (on or upon something).
- 'Well, but since we have touched upon this business, and for the last time I hope,' continued the doctor, 'there is one point I should like you to understand.[…]'1886 January 5, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Dr. Jekyll Was Quite at Ease”, in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 33:
To concern, to have to do with.
- Men of Israhell take hede to youreselves what ye entende to do as touchinge these men.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:
- The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
1 more example
- And now it seemed he was engaged in something which touched them closely, but must be hidden from their knowledge.1919, Saki, ‘The Penance’, The Toys of Peace, Penguin 2000 (Complete Short Stories), page 423
Usually, With negation To engage with, to be involved with.
- I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole.
- His latest play is so shocking that his publisher wouldn't touch it and his friends almost dumped him.2005 February 9, Lyn Gardner, “The devil inside”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2023:
To affect emotionally; to bring about tender or painful feelings in.
- If you are so fond over her iniquity, give her patent to offend, for if it touch not you, it comes near nobody.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
- Stefan was touched by the song's message of hope.
Dated To affect in a negative way, especially only slightly.
- He had been drinking over lunch, and was clearly touched.
History, Human sciences, Sciences Scottish To give royal assent to by touching it with the sceptre.
- The bill was finally touched after many hours of deliberation.
Slang To obtain money from, usually by borrowing (from a friend).
- I was running short, so I touched old Bertie for a fiver.
To disturb the mental functions of; to make somewhat insane; often followed with "in the head".
- You must be touched if you think I'm taking your advice.
In negative constructions To be on the level of; to approach in excellence or quality.
- There was his mistress, Maria Morano. I don't think I've ever seen anything to touch her, and when you work for the screen [as I do] you're apt to have a pretty exacting standard of female beauty.1928, Dorothy L. Sayers, “The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers”, in Lord Peter Views the Body:
- 'Lind Arden was a great genius, one of the greatest tragic actresses in the world. As Lady Macbeth, as Magda, there was no one to touch her.'1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 6, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 118:
To come close to; to approach.
- On Sunday afternoon it was as dark as night, with barely room for two riders abreast on a gradient that touches 20%.2012 July 15, Richard Williams, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track, Guardian Unlimited:
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To mark (a file or document) as having been modified.
To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.
- I mean to touch your love indeed.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
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.1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC:
Obsolete To infect; to affect slightly.
- Hee was touched with great Remorse1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC:
To strike; to manipulate; to play on.
- to touch an instrument of music
- [They] touched their golden harps.1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
To perform, as a tune; to play.
- A person in the royal retinue touched a light and lively air on the flageolet.1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:
To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.
- No decree of mine,[…][to] touch with lightest moment of impulse his free will.1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- Derived terms
62 terms
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