retouchedadj.
/(ˌ)riːˈtʌtʃt/, U.S. /riˈtətʃt/ 1. Of a painting, photograph, etc.: improved or repaired by small alterations or fresh touches.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [adjective] > improved > by fresh touches
retouched1768
1768 W. Gilpin Ess. Prints iii. 78 We seldom meet with any impressions, but those taken from the retouched plate.
1843 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 6 391/1 Whilst in many frescos a remarkably fine luminous surface is observable, the retouched parts are invariably dim.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 202 There is no reason..why..the individual style of the worker should be more apparent than in a retouched negative.
1917 G. F. Hill in Burlington Mag. Nov. 182 If a sand mould was used, a new plaster positive would be taken from the retouched mould.
1991 Rage 13 Feb. 55/2 Inga is pretty average in reality, and no amount of retouched photography..can disguise that.
2005 E. L. Davis Encycl. Contemp. Chinese Cult. 89 ‘The young Mao’: that is, the retouched picture of Mao in a Red Army uniform taken..in the 1930s.
2. Archaeology. Of a stone implement: retrimmed or reshaped after initial manufacture.
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1905 Amer. Anthropologist 7 694 They [sc. the obsidian blades] lack the symmetry and beautifully retouched edge characteristic of the northwestern blades.
1912 T. A. Joyce South Amer. Archaeol. x. 252 Simple flakes with retouched edges.
1929 Man 29 69 The floor of this dolmen also yielded six flint flakes and a small retouched blade.
1977 G. Clark World Prehist. (ed. 3) v. 214 The savannah..now carried assemblages of Magosian type..which include lunates and other forms of steeply retouched blades.
2010 V. Rots Prehension & Hafting Traces Flint Tools iii. 43/1 Macroscopic gloss is rare. It occurs as a result of hammer or anvil contact and is largely confined to retouched pieces.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1768