contour

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈkɑntʊr/ UK /ˈkɒntʊə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the outline or shape of an object's surface or boundary

The road follows the gentle contour of the rolling hills.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the outline or shape of an... outline silhouette profile shape form figure curve

Word family

Derived forms contouredcontouring

Related forms tour detour attorney

Simplified etymology

Contour entered English in the mid-17th century through French from Italian contorno. The Italian word comes from contornare, “to draw in outline,” formed from con-, “together,” and tornare, “to turn.”

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').

contorno Italian tornare Latin tornus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# contour

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑntʊr/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒntʊə/

## Meanings
1. the outline or shape of an object's surface or boundary

## Examples
- The road follows the gentle contour of the rolling hills.

## Synonyms
- outline
- silhouette
- profile
- shape
- form
- figure
- curve

## Derived Forms
- contoured
- contouring

## Related Forms
- tour
- detour
- attorney

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: contorno
- Root: tornare
- Root: tornus

## 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.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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