touch

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) Primarily physical senses.
2. (transitive) Primarily physical senses.
3. (intransitive) Primarily physical senses.
4. (intransitive) Primarily physical senses.
5. (transitive) Primarily physical senses.
6. (transitive) Primarily physical senses.
7. (reflexive, transitive) Primarily physical senses.
8. Primarily physical senses.
9. (transitive) Primarily physical senses.
10. (transitive) Primarily physical senses.
11. (transitive) Primarily physical senses.
12. (intransitive) Primarily physical senses.
13. (historical, transitive) Primarily physical senses.
14. (intransitive, obsolete) Primarily physical senses.
15. Primarily physical senses.
16. (intransitive) Primarily physical senses.
17. Primarily physical senses.
18. (transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
19. (archaic, transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
20. (intransitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
21. (transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
22. (transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
23. (dated, transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
24. (Scottish, transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
25. (slang, transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
26. (transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
27. (transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
28. (transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
29. (transitive) Primarily non-physical senses.
30. To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.
31. To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.
32. (obsolete) To infect; to affect slightly.
33. To strike; to manipulate; to play on.
34. To perform, as a tune; to play.
35. To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) An act of touching, especially with the hand or finger.
2. (countable, uncountable) The faculty or sense of perception by physical contact.
3. (countable, uncountable) The style or technique with which one plays a musical instrument.
4. (countable, uncountable) The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers.
5. (countable, uncountable) A distinguishing feature or characteristic.
6. (countable, uncountable) A little bit; a small amount.
7. (countable, uncountable) The part of a sports field beyond the touchlines or goal-lines.
8. (uncountable) A relationship of close communication or understanding.
9. (countable, uncountable) The ability to perform a task well; aptitude.
10. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Act or power of exciting emotion.
11. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) An emotion or affection.
12. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Personal reference or application.
13. (countable, uncountable) A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.
14. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A brief essay.
15. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.
16. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.
17. (countable, uncountable) The broadest part of a plank worked top and but, or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters.
18. (countable, uncountable) The children's game of tag.
19. (countable, uncountable) A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, i.e. less than 5,040.
20. (countable, slang, uncountable) An act of borrowing or stealing something; a request for money.
21. (countable, slang, uncountable) The extent to which a person is interested or affected; the amount of outlay on something.
22. (UK, countable, dated, uncountable) Tallow.
23. (countable, uncountable) Form; standard of performance.
24. (countable, uncountable) A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.
25. (Australia, countable, uncountable) touch football (a variant of rugby league that does not involve tackling)

Synonyms

feel

contact

move

finger

hit

handle

grope

hold

affect

stroke

reach

adjoin

sense

touching

touch on

feeling

bump

tinge

catch

trace

strike

palpate

meet

bear on

grab

sense of touch

concern

grasp

get

fondle

take

caress

impress

rub

influence

stir

hint

fumble

be surprised

bear upon

molest

ghost

👻

tint

smell

👃

spot

abut

refer

perceive

poke

connection

Translations

toucher

tocar

berühren

toccare

tocar

aanraken

Berührung

palpar

toque

raken

αγγίζω

betasten

anfassen

tocar

tocco

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tʌt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: touchen

Cognate with French: toucher

Cognate with Old High German: zochhōn

Cognate with German: zucken

Cognate with Middle Dutch: tocken

Cognate with Dutch: tokkelen

Cognate with Old English: tucian

Cognate with Albanian: cek

Cognate with Church Slavic: тъкнѫти

In summary

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”). Outside Germanic, cognate to Albanian cek (“to touch”), Old Church Slavonic тъкнѫти (tŭknǫti). More at tuck, take.