## Etymology
From French contour ('outline'), from Italian contorno, from contornare ('to draw in outline'), from con- ('together') + tornare ('to turn, round off'), from Latin tornare, from tornus ('lathe').

## AI Etymology
Contour is from French contour ('outline'), from Italian contorno, from contornare ('to draw in outline'), from con- ('together') + tornare ('to turn, round off'), from Latin tornare, from tornus ('lathe'). The ancestry passes through Italian contorno, Latin tornare, and Latin tornus. The prefix con- adds togetherness, combination, or intensification where the Latin formation gives it that value, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as noun and verb, it means "the outline or shape of an object's surface or boundary", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include tour, detour, and attorney; derived forms include contoured and contouring.

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