touch

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of putting two things together with no space between them

   The touch of the wires filled the room with light.

2. 2
   noun

   a distinguishing style

   this room needs a woman's touch

3. 3
   noun

   the feel of mechanical action

   this piano has a wonderful touch

4. 4
   noun

   deftness in handling matters

   I have a master's touch.

5. 5
   noun

   the faculty by which external objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body (especially the hands)

   only sight and touch enable us to locate objects in the space around us

6. 6
   noun

   the sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin

   I like the touch of silk on my skin.

7. 7
   noun

   a suggestion of some quality

   There was a touch of sarcasm in their tone.

8. 8
   noun

   the act of soliciting money as a gift or loan

   I watched the beggar trying to make a touch.

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 Ge…