Definition for TOUCH

TOUCH, v.t. [tuch; Fr. toucher; Arm. touicha, touchan or touchein; Goth. tekan, attekan; G. ticken; D. tekken; Sp. and Port. tocar; It. toccare; Gr. θιγω; L. tango, originally tago, (our vulgar tag;) pret. tetigi, pp. tactus. The sense is to thrust or strike. Class Dg. It appears by the laws of Numa Pompilius, that in his days this word was written without n. “Pellex aram Junonis ne tagito.”]

  1. To come in contact with; to hit or strike against. He touched the hollow of his thigh. Gen. xxxii. Matth. ix. Esther drew near and touched the top of the scepter. Esth. v.
  2. To perceive by the sense of feeling. Nothing but body can be touch'd or touch. Creech.
  3. To come to; to reach; to attain to. The God vindictive doom'd them never more, / Ah men unbless'd! to touch that natal shore. Pope.
  4. To try, as gold with a stone. Wherein I mean to touch your love indeed. Shak.
  5. To relate to; to concern. The quarrel toucheth none but thee alone. Shak. [This sense is now nearly obsolete.]
  6. To handle slightly. Brown.
  7. To meddle with. I have not touched the books.
  8. To affect. What of sweet / Hath touch'd my sense, flat seems to this. Milton.
  9. To move; to soften; to melt. The tender sire was touch'd with what he said. Addison.
  10. To mark or delineate slightly. The lines, though touch'd but faintly. Pope.
  11. To infect; as, men touched with pestilent diseases. [Little used.] Bacon.
  12. To make an impression on. Its face must be – so hard that the file will not touch it. Moxon.
  13. To strike, as an instrument of music; to play on. They touch'd their golden harps. Milton.
  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 treat slightly. In his discourse, he barely touched upon the subject deemed the most interesting.
  16. To afflict or distress. Gen. xxvi. To touch up, to repair; or to improve by slight touches or emendations. Addison. To touch the wind, in seamen's language, is to keep the ship as near the wind as possible.

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