touchingn.
/ˈtʌtʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈtətʃɪŋ/ 1.
a. The action or fact of placing a part of the body (esp. the hand or finger) in contact with anything so as to feel it or otherwise interact with it; an instance of this. Cf. touch v. 1.Formerly sometimes spec. with reference to the practice of touching for the ‘king's evil’ (cf. touch v. 1f).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > [noun]
riningOE
touchingc1300
taking1340
toucha1387
tastea1400
atouchment1483
tuckingc1485
tacture1598
taction1623
contaction1628
tactation1688
tig1721
tact1801
skinship1966
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > non-scientific treatments > [noun] > touching for king's evil
king's stroke1613
healing1676
touching1704
the world > space > distance > nearness > [noun] > contiguity
toucha1398
contingence1561
concourse1570
admotion1603
collaterage1610
contact1626
contaction1628
contiguousness1639
contingencya1646
contiguity1648
concurrence1656
osculation1669
abuttal1797
tangency1813
touching1842
c1300 St. Lucy (Laud) 33 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 102 Þoruȝ touchingue of seinte Agace toumbe þouȝ schalt beo hol a-non.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Song of Sol. v. 4 My wombe inwardli tremblede at the touching [L. tactum] of hym. I ros, that I shulde opene to my lemman.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.:Wallner) ii. 87 (MED) I graunte þat þorȝ þe vertue of god þe ful clere or worthi kyng of fraunce in toching haþ deliuered many men.
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 102, in Middle Eng. Dict. (at cited word) When a man gropeþ it, it is harde & resistinge to a mannes touching.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 58 (MED) Leude touchinge and handelyng sterith and chafithe the flesshe.
c1480 (a1400) St. Matthias 425 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. xii. 234 Vthyre blynde [war] made..That he gert se þare clerly Of his handis thru þe twechinge.
?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. B.iiiv What pleasure therin can be By the towchynge of soft & harde Of hote or colde.
1535 Burgh Court Bk. Selkirk f. 198v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Tuiching(e Thai ar all sworne in plane covrt befor alderman and balȝeis and communite be tueychin of the haly evangell.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iv. f. 154 Some he healed with touching, other some with his word.
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus 2 Those Instruments which are commanded, either with the touching of the fingers, or articulating of the Keyes.
a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 657 The Royall ceremonie of tuiching of some diseased childrein for hailling off sume of the escrolles.
a1657 W. Mure in Wks. (1898) I. 26 Hands, forbeare to tuich Oght ȝor tuiching can bewitch!
1704 London Gaz. No. 4020/4 Her Majesty thinking it necessary to discontinue Touching for this Season.
1765 S. Hawkes Let. 30 Jan. in E. Mascall Remnants of Life (1902) 134 Did not seem to give him pain at the touching of it.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 96 Our spirits rush'd together at the touching of the lips.
1900 Public Health Rep. (U.S. Marine-Hosp. Service) 15 796 The touching of the abdomen caused him extreme pain and showed the existence of swollen abdominal glands.
1986 P. D. James Taste for Death I. vii. 60 She disliked casual touching, the assumption of acquaintances or strangers that her disablement entitled them to handle her.
b. The action or an act of touching intimately or sexually; sexual contact. Now esp.: the action or an act of touching or fondling a person without consent and for one's own sexual gratification; groping. In later use frequently with up. Cf. touch v. 1b, to touch up 2 at touch v. Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > action of caressing > [noun] > sexual caressing
love playc1390
touching1489
yum-yum1885
petting1920
homework1933
1489 W. Caxton De Roye's Doctrinal of Sapyence xiii. sig. Diij This comandement defendeth alle desyres and consentyng to haue flesshly companye to another mans wyf and other woman what euer she be, but yf it be to thy wedded wyf. It defendeth..also alle foulle gropynges & touchynges.
1567 Queen Elizabeth I Let. to Mary Queen of Scots 23 June in Coll. Wks. (2002) (modernized text) 118 A subject, who..public fame hath charged with the murder of your late husband, besides the touching of yourself also in some part, though we trust that in that behalf falsely?
1606 I. G. & T. Everard tr. F. Androzzi Certaine Devout Considerations 146 If thou hast sinned in vnchast touchinge, it shal suffice to say: I haue immodestly touched thus often, a person of such or such a qualitie, not naminge the place, or maner how.
1648 H. Turberville Abridgement Christian Doctr. 152 Unchast touching of our selves or others, with all delight in lustfull thoughts and kisses.
1893 Jrnl. Assembly 30th Session California Legislature 248 The lewd and improper touching and handling of children under the age of fourteen years.
1919 C. R. Payne tr. O. Pfister Psychoanalytic Method x. 202 Girls allowed themselves in the dangerous play of doctor, to be guilty of improper touching.
1961 H. S. Turner Something Extraordinary vii. 135 She..went in for a crass practice..known as ‘touching up’. It is..a quick flick, in passing, from the crotch upwards.
1980 J. Scott Gospel Lamb iii. 51 Touchings-up were frequent—the girls seemed as eager as the boys.
1996 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 4 Dec. 15 Years and years and years of abuse, miles of walks along the Forth and Clyde canal, undressings and touchings under the dirty cover of overcoats.
2010 L. Kelk I heart N.Y. xi. 121 He came back in for a second kiss, complete with tongues and a little bit of touching up.
2. † a. That which is perceived through touching; the way something feels. Frequently in in touching: to the touch. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > [noun] > physical sensation through
touchingc1325
feelinga1425
contact sensation1901
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > quality of being tangible > [noun] > sensation produced by object touched
touchingc1325
gripe1632
feel1739
handle1823
handling1824
hand1949
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1009 Wormes..deieþ þoru smul of þe lond oþer þorȝ torchinge [read touchinge; a1400 Trin. Cambr. touchinge, c1425 Harl. towchyng].
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Lev. xx. 6 He þat toucheþ..eny vnclene whoos touchynge is hory: shal been vnclene vn to þe euyn.
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 365 (MED) Galien..ȝeueþ 8 maners of knowynge þe mater of ham: of þe coloure, of þe touchinge, of þinges þat ben layde þerto.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ii. l. 110 (MED) The rounde dropis off..reyn..On stonys harde..Perceth ther hardnesse..Al-be in touchyng water is but soffte.
a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) l. 1131 (MED) It is no stone in towching ne in sygthe, But a subtile erthe.
a1500 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Wellcome) f. 25 (MED) If þe blode be gret in substaunce and kyndelyche and þat in qualite, it makythe A carbocle whose colour is wan and in touchyng is hard.
1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) i. f. 3v The heed..is colde in touchynge.
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxix. f. 315 I would to God, that thy beautie did prick mée no worsse, than the trée whereof thou takest thy name, is sharp in touching.
1606 H. Tripp tr. O. Casmann Vade Mecum sig. D4 Whatsoeuer is beautifull to the eye: whatsoeuer is sweete to the tast: whatsoeuer is pleasant to the eare: whatsoeuer delighteth the smell: whatsoeuer is soft in touching.
1701 W. Salmon Polygraphice (ed. 8) II. ix. iv. 672 The Palm of the Hand is long, and the Fingers of a good Proportion, and not soft in touching, but rather hard.
1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs II. vi. 111/2 The Leaves are oblong,..rough in touching.
b. The sense of touch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > [noun]
gropingc1000
toucha1398
feela1400
tastea1400
tastinga1400
touching?c1400
tact1651
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) v. pr. iv. l. 4766 Þe same roundenes of a body..oþer weyes þe syȝt of þe eye knoweþ it, and oþer weyes þe touching.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) §133 Alle manere delices..ben after the appetites of the .v. wittes, as Sighte, H[eryn]ge, Smellynge, Sauorynge, and Touchynge.
c1475 Wisdom (Folger) (1969) l. 1101 By towchynge I felte peyns smerte.
a1513 W. Dunbar Tabill of Confessioun in Poems (1998) I. 267 My wittis five, In hering, seing, tuiching, gusting, smelling [a1586 twiching taisting].
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 655 Those operations called Animal, to wit, going, apprehension, Vision, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting, Touching, Imagination, Ratiocination & Memory.
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 78 The sense of touching.
1707 J. Dunton Athenian Sport xxxviii. 173/2 Touching may be accounted the Genus of the Senses, since all partake thereof.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth II. 179 The closer senses, if I may so call them, such as smelling, tasting, and touching, are..as simple as they are limited.
1804 Farmer's Mag. 7 May 185 The blind are found to possess a more nicely discriminating sense of touching, than those who both see and feel.
1836 T. Dick Mental Illumination & Moral Improvem. Mankind iii. 72 Then the senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling, begin to act with a certain degree of vigour.
1906 J. I. Beare Greek Theories Elem. Cognition 187 For Plato the organ of touching was undoubtedly what he called flesh.
1999 H. Atkins tr. J. Sclör Tel Aviv i. 9 Tel Aviv..has a special way of engaging all the senses: it heightens our seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and touching.
3. The coming or bringing into contact of one thing with another. Also: the point at which two or more things touch or are contiguous. Cf. touch v. 2, 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > nearness > [noun] > contiguity > bringing into contiguity
touchingc1390
apposition?1541
application1562
abutment1859
appropinquation1864
the world > space > distance > nearness > [noun] > contiguity > point of contact
touchingc1390
tangence1840
c1390 MS Vernon Homilies in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1877) 57 316 A fflaume of brennyng fuir ful hate Com of his mouþ, and touched raþe Min Eren and my tonge baþe, And wiþ [þis] ilke touchyng he ȝaf me boþe speche and heryng.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. xxi. 120 Epilenticis..in houre of þe iuel..feliþ noȝt noþir takeþ hede of touchinge of fire.
a1400 in Jrnl. Hist. Med. & Allied Sci. (1960) 15 403 (MED) Drawe a litel bowe til into the lyne of declinacioun, vppon the contact or touchinge of which raise thou another lyne ortogonaliter.
a1484 Treat. Seven Liberal Arts in Speculum (1993) 68 1047 (MED) The north poole and the sowth..is necessarie to knowe..the goyng furth of beames from a mannes eye, and from other thynges bi a right lyne thurgh whos touchyng is made a triangle.
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) xv. f. 192v The Grapegod Bacchus..Did fynd a spotted beast cald Lynx, whoose vrine (by report) By towching of the open aire congealeth in such sort.
1583 J. Stockwood tr. J. von Ewich Duetie Magistrate in Time of Plague ii. ii. f. 65v It hath beene marked, that this sickly infection hath bene increased, euen by the inclosures of ye walles, and standing and touchinge of the houses together.
1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 72 The mutuall touching of the agent, and patient, id est, of the fire heating, and thing heated by it.
1662 J. Chandler tr. J. B. van Helmont Oriatrike xlii. 328 That thing appeared at first to happen, by reason of the touching of the Mercury.
1733 J. Clarke Third defence Dr. Clarke's Demonstr. Being & Attributes God 7 There is a Difference in Something, namely, the touching, or not touching of the two Walls.
1825 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 2 363 To avoid all friction in the touching of the pins r and o upon the inclined plane p.
1897 F. R. Hutton Mech. Engin. Steam Power Plants xxviii. 642 [This] brings about a condition analogous to the touching of a flame to a gasifying substance like powder.
1901 M. M. B. Stone Pract. Stud. of Soul xx. 198 The touching of the match to the fuse in the fireworks.
1925 Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 60 537 The touching together of the platinum surfaces failed to make electrical contact.
1959 F. J. Camm Gears (‘Pract. Engin.’ Pocket Bk. No. 5) 2 Pitch line or circle, a line which represents the touching of two cylinders.
1994 S. Robertson Automotive Electr. Maintenance 3 An unintended low resistance by-pass to a circuit usually caused by the touching together of two separate conductors of an electric circuit.
4.
a. The action or fact of touching (in various specific senses corresponding to senses of the verb); (now chiefly, of a ship) the action or fact of putting in at a port or harbour in the course of a longer voyage (cf. touch v. 20).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > [noun] > act of tasting
taste1340
tasting1390
touchinga1400
savouringc1405
gusting?1533
gustation1599
smacking1648
degustation1651
elibation1656
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > magnetism > [noun] > magnetizing
touchinga1400
touch1576
excitation1656
magnetization1801
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [noun] > testing
assayc1386
toucha1450
say1567
essay1668
assaying1728
parting assay1758
van1778
docimasy1803
touching1908
heat tinting1910
cupping1921
Magnaflux1935
a1400 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Hatton 12) in Eng. Writings (1931) 5 (MED) A instrument of musyke þat in Ebru es Nablum, in Grek sautery of psalme, in Inglis es to touche..gyves þe soune fra þe overer thurgh touchinge of hende.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 2568 (MED) Mery is þe blast of þe styuoure; Mery is þe touchyng of þe harpoure.
1555 Protocol Bk. G. Grote (1914) 7 Be tuecheing and wphalding of thair handis to vtheris.
1589 J. Penry Th'appellation 44 To haue a warrant for the apprehending, and touching of whomesoeuer it please you to suspect.
1649 C. Hoole Easie Entrance Latine Tongue 159/2 The touching of silver, Indicatúra.
1706 W. Derham in Philos. Trans. 1704–05 (Royal Soc.) 24 2143 This way of Touching [with a magnet].
1717 Answer Char. & Conduct R— W— 15 There is no Crime a Man can be guilty of, that I more abhor than that of Bribery and Corruption..: If once he gives himself up to Touching (as they call it) I give him over as Incurable.
1798 S. H. Wilcocke in tr. J. S. Stavorinus Voy. E.-Indies I. 162 (note) This council..determines..the touching at any places for reparation, or refreshment.
1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter III. xii. 310 The only difference between the passages, is the frequency of touching in the one case.
1896 A. Morrison Child of Jago 231 It would never do to go home without touching.
1899 H. Goudy Muirhead's Hist. Introd. Law Rome (ed. 2) 67 The touching of the scales with a bit of metal was as good an index that the transaction was perfect as the adhibiting of a seal.
1908 H. B. Morse Trade Chinese Empire 148 A lot of sixty [silver ingots] of which I saw the weighing and touching.
1939 Yale Law Jrnl. 49 19 The visit to Canada, to Mexico, or the touching at a foreign port..is uniformly held a departure not entitling the alien to return to this land of freedom and opportunity.
1965 F. Pridmore Coins of Brit. Commonw. of Nations II. 148 The Dutch passed legislation which prevented the touching at any port in the Netherlands Indies of vessels having shipments of Doits in their cargo.
b. In various figurative senses corresponding to senses of the verb: esp. (a) the action or an act of mentioning, alluding to, or discussing something (cf. touch v. 26b) †(b) the action or act of affecting, influencing, or injuring a person or thing (cf. touch v. 28, touch v. 29) (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [noun] > action
illingc1220
annoyingc1330
impairingc1380
appairing1388
harminga1400
infection?1520
deringc1540
endamaging1567
hurtinga1568
maiminga1568
damaging1569
touching1590
butchering1618
damnificationa1631
poisoning1631
spoiling1632
vitiating1647
sapping1825
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > [noun]
acoupementc1300
accusinga1350
impeachment1387
accusementa1393
accusation?c1400
witingc1449
charge1477
impetition1530
threap1538
imputationa1586
deposition1587
impeach1591
insimulation1592
accusal1594
arraignment1595
taxation1605
arguing1611
tax1613
impositiona1616
tainture1621
incusation1623
touchinga1625
aggravation1626
accrimination1655
compellation1656
imputea1657
inculpation1798
finger-pointing1851
j'accuse1899
1410 in Speculum (1939) 14 24 And yf by that mocioun and touchyngge the home wi may fele the forseide Duc be therof righte desirous.
?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. xi. f. 7v Mad bi þe presence and þe touching of þe good angel.
a1500 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Trin. Cambr.) (1967) 158 (MED) Of gode looue & chaste looue and of many other gode thewes was onely þair spekynge withouten toucchynge of any maner of velany.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons Ded. 13 Is no other but a blaspheming and offending of God in the highest degree, a touching of the honour of the Princes.
a1625 H. Finch Law (1627) iii. ii. 185 The touching of him with some hainous crime.
1667 tr. F.-P. de Lisola Buckler of State & Justice Pref. sig. B2v I beseech the Reader to be persuaded that my onely drift is, to speak of Things without touching of Persons.
1728 tr. B. B. de Fontenelle Life I. Newton 9 There's no touching upon either of these Subjects without having Sir Isaac Newton before ones Eyes.
a1820 J. Browne Serm. Several Subj. (1821) I. iii. 51 I trust you will excuse my touching on this point perhaps never before called to your notice.
1865 J. Grote Exploratio Philosophica Pt. I iv. 56 The problems of philosophy are all so intertwined together, that..in the touching of any of them, they have all been more or less touched.
1921 T. Maynard Divine Adventure iv. 43 At school there had been the usual quantity of..sniggering touchings upon the meaning of ‘being married’.
1992 S. W. Nicholsen tr. T. W. Adorno Notes to Lit. I. 294 Art can keep faith to its true affinity with religion..only by an almost ascetic abstinence from any religious claim or any touching upon religious subject matter.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [noun] > foundations > parts of
foundation stone1651
touching1663
footstone1728
substrate1730
found1818
air drain1833
damp-course1876
damp-proof course1876
foundation-trench1942
foundation deposit1955
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 50 To cause the foundation of the intended building to be generally laid, without leaving any toutchings.
6. † b. Art. Method or technique of painting, drawing, etc.; the execution of pencil or brushstrokes. Cf. handling n.1 4. Obsolete.
a. The action or an act of modifying or improving an artwork using small, light, or precise strokes; (more generally) the action or an act of making minor changes or additions to anything, esp. in order to improve, repair, or finish. Also: an addition or modification so made. Frequently with up. Cf. touch v. 7a, to touch up 1 at Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [noun] > slight improvement > instance of
touch-up1733
touching1902
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > [noun] > stroke of pen or brush > improving or finishing by strokes
touching1902
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [noun] > slight improvement
touching1957
fine tuning1962
1735 J. Barrow Dict. Polygraphicum II. at Limning The composition made with eggs and the juice of fig-tree being used only for touching up and finishing.
1769 A. Oliver Let. 13 Feb. in Lett. Governor Hutchinson & Lieutenant Governor Oliver (1774) 36 Such a great design may, as in painting, require frequent touching before it becomes a piece highly finish'd.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 465 The several touchings and retouchings requisite.
1835 A. Beaumont Hints for preventing Damage by Fire 34 It is well known that every scouring, re-canvassing, and touching-up of a fine picture, is fraught with its destruction.
1888 G. M. Hopkins Let. (1938) 143 Photography proper now is mere scaffolding, rough-hewing: painting, stippling, ‘touching’.
1902 Athenæum 26 Apr. 538/3 The touchings-up of the Gavotte were in the worst possible taste.
1936 Burlington Mag. May 208/1 The artist's later touching-up.
1957 M. Spark Comforters iv. 89 By means of innumerable small touchings, she had made a subtle and important alteration in the portrait, which remains undetected to this day.
1957 Pract. Wireless 33 558/1 ‘Look Back to Lyttleton’ was a novel by Caryl Brahms, which had been laid aside for touching up and taken out as suitable material for a radio play.
1998 Sunday Times (Nexis) 1 Nov. These big pictures are created slowly, with many successive paint layers, touchings and retouchings.
2013 Sunday Times (Nexis) 15 Dec. 7 The quote suggested that all that was required was a fresh coat of paint and some minor touching up around the damaged area.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [noun] > artistic treatment or style
gusto1662
composition1695
style1706
expression1715
goût1717
handling1719
touching1743
conduct1758
rhetoric1851
treatment1856
1743 tr. R. de Piles Princ. of Painting 100 Stones, waters, trees, hair, feathers..must have their different touchings [Fr. des touches differentes], in order to express the spirit of their characters.
1781 J. Reynolds Journey Flanders & Holland in Wks. (1797) II. 87 [Tenier's] manner of touching, or what we call handling, has perhaps never been equalled.
Compounds
C1. General attributive, with reference to the sense of touch, as touching faculty, touching organ, etc. Cf. touch n. Compounds 1a.
ΚΠ
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια xii. xvi. 966 We commonly say our Teeth are set on edge, which kind of sensation is proper only to the Teeth and the Gums, and is nothing else but a Symptome of the touching faculty.
1655 Anthropologie Abstracted xii. 184 There is a plurality of touching Faculties; and of these some make two, one for the discernment of calidity and frigidity, another for the dignotion of humidity and siccity.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect i. ii. 171 Touch..is..a compound of sense and motion; and it is to the muscular part of the sense, or to the movements of the touching organs that these conceptions owe their origin.
1967 S. Natusch Animals N. Z. 77 Feeling and touching organs occur on the mantle edge and on the lower siphon.
C2.
touching distance n. the distance within which a person is easily able to reach an object in order to touch it; frequently in within (also in) touching distance: within a short distance, close by; also figurative of a prize, achievement, etc.
ΚΠ
1831 N.-Y. Spectator 1 July The power of the glass was such as to bring the scene, seemingly, within touching distance.
1892 J. Tait Mind in Matter (ed. 3) 314 ‘Criticism’, has never reached nearer than touching distance to the extreme outworks of divine truth.
1979 A. Gray Unlikely Stories (1984) 118 My entourage came in and wanted to wash, feed and soothe me but I let nobody within touching distance.
2004 Daily Tel. 19 Aug. 1/4 There were bronze medals in archery and canoeing, and that elusive first gold is in touching distance.
touching stuff n. now rare a mixture used during the preparation of a plate for aquatint etching to coat areas intended to be the darkest in the finished print.
ΚΠ
1852 Appleton's Dict. Machines I. 619 Paint over all the parts that are required to be very dark, such as..sharp shadows, with the touching stuff.
1891 Cent. Dict. at Stuff Touching-stuff, in aquatint engraving, a composition of the ashes of cork, ivory-black, and gall with treacle, made into a ball, and used with water for touching up the dark parts of the plate.
1932 Artist Nov. 72/3 It is usual to paint those forms with a thick preparation known as ‘Touching Stuff’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
touchingadj.
/ˈtʌtʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈtətʃɪŋ/ 1. That affects the feelings or emotions; producing strong emotion; affecting, moving. Cf. touch v. 28.In quot. a1586 probably: (of speech) sharp, pointed, cutting (cf. touch v. 31a, touch v. 33).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > quality of affecting the emotions > [adjective]
ruefulc1225
pathetical1563
touchinga1586
imprintingc1592
moving1594
pathetic1598
neara1616
affectivea1639
affectuous1664
tenderingc1694
affecting1703
tender1705
emotive1847
the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > [adjective]
armlyeOE
unseelyOE
rulyOE
ruefulc1225
ruthfulc1225
sorryc1225
piteousc1300
poorc1300
ruthlyc1300
pietousa1393
pitifulc1450
lamentablec1460
miserable?a1475
pitiablec1475
execrable1490
plainful1555
tristsum1567
passionatea1586
touchinga1586
pathetic1591
melting1593
remorseful?1615
compassionate1630
compassionable1635
ruesome1833
po'1866
little-boy-lost1957
a1586 W. Dunbar in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 108 I wald right twichand in [c1507 tuichandly] talk be.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iv. ii. 203 O insupportable, and touching losse! View more context for this quotation
1652 C. Cotterell tr. G. de Costes de La Calprenède Cassandra ii. iv. 28 Hee spoke the most touching words that a real passion could bring forth.
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Third 18 If not forgot my touching Tale.
1790 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 317/2 The natural and touching pathos, which the old Scotch melodies possess in such a wonderful degree, has rendered their history an object of great curiosity.
1823 W. Scott Peveril II. i. 4 So touching, also, in her simplicity and purity of thought.
1870 T. H. Huxley Lay Serm. (1874) iii. 30 A touching faith in the efficacy of acts of parliament.
1926 A. MacLeish Let. 25 July (1983) 180 She is always expecting that I am going to leave my family—a touching tribute to her conviction that I am a poet.
1956 A. L. Rowse Diary 24 Aug. (2003) 251 It is touching to think than an experience so ordinary is now part of the irrevocable past.
2006 T. Nichols Sunburst's Citadel ix. 189 ‘What a touching little scene,’ sneered a voice at the base of the stairwell.
2. That touch or come into contact; (also) adjoining, contiguous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > nearness > [adjective] > contiguous
contiguate?a1475
contiguec1550
attingent1578
contigual1610
contiguous1611
touching1618
attiguous1676
tangent1833
1618 J. Brinsley in tr. Ovid Metamorphosis i. ix. 88 (side note) The touching mouthes.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 113 Because this touching draught is more broken in some, and more tight in others.
1767 E. Wallis Tentamen Sophisticon 110 Less compact solids..must of course have fewer touching parts.
1834 Jrnl. Philadelphia Coll. Pharmacy 6 253 Upon making the experiment, it will be found impossible to separate the touching surfaces from each other at once.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1939/2 The joint part of a scissors-blade which forms the touching portion back of the rivet.
1911 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 12 52 Touching planes have the same orientation.
1961 Brit. Jrnl. Philos. Sci. 12 70 Gravitation does not imply that any two touching objects will remain in contact.
2011 C. Koslow Nightwalker xi. 120 When she gazed down at their touching hands, he seemed to grow uncomfortable and pulled back.
Compounds
ΚΠ
1881 W. Whitman in Amer. 14 June 120/1 Thy touching-distant beams.
Derivatives
ˈtouchingness n. the quality of being touching or affecting.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > quality of affecting the emotions > [noun]
patheticalnessa1607
movingness1661
pathos1668
stress1737
touchingnessa1750
patheticness1874
the mind > emotion > compassion > quality of exciting pity > [noun]
piteousnessa1586
meltingness1622
pathos1668
pitiableness1694
touchingnessa1750
pitiability1865
pitifulness1897
a1750 A. Hill Wks. (1753) II. 355 He..charm'd me infinitely..by a peculiar touchingness, in cadency of voice.
1841 Fraser's Mag. 23 315 To..prove The simple touchingness of Morn.
1913 W. D. Howells Familiar Spanish Trav. xiii. 324 I must own that I did not find the incident irreverent or without a certain touchingness.
2001 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 18 Nov. 68 The book is a love letter, as full of mad passion,..touchingness, adoration and vilification as anything Oscar sent to Bosie.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
touchingprep.
/ˈtʌtʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈtətʃɪŋ/ Now somewhat archaic.
In reference or relation to; as relates to; as regards; concerning.
a. Without construction.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > relation [preposition] > respecting or concerning
ofOE
to-gainsc1175
againsta1225
anentc1225
towarda1240
froc1300
aforyen1340
again1340
touchinga1387
touchinga1398
touchant1399
concerning1525
re1707
fornent1709
regarding1779
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 185 Touchynge þe þridde liknesse [of the world to man's body] [L. quoad tertium simile], þat is vertuous worchynge,..þe world was at þe begynnynge þryuynge... So in a mannys ȝowþe þe body is þryuynge.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 23011 Saint austin sais touchand [Gött. enent; Trin. Cambr. of] þat day. is nane can goddis consail say.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 107 Wonder sutell of witte towchand any thing þat þai will do.
1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid xii. Prol. 271 Twichand the lattyr buke of Dan Virgill.
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 49 The composition of the head touching the bones thereof.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. to Rdr. sig. A5 This may suffice touching the Greeke Translations of the old Testament.
1682 Proc. Gen. Assembly 11 May in W. H. Browne Arch. Maryland (1889) VII. 295 Touching the Indian Affaires, this house are of Oppinion that it is unsafe to carry Indian Agents with Ours to Fort Albany.
1758 T. Smollett Compl. Hist. Eng. IV. viii. iv. 94 Aaron Smith was examined touching the evidence.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 18 The master of the company being sent for, and examined, touching the said Wilson.
1823 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 14 641/2 Touching the reality (as well as the amusingness) of spectral appearances, I protest..against being put down as a scoffer.
1857 C. Dickens Little Dorrit ii. xxviii. 564 Touching the bargain, your..mother was a little too calm.
1919 Pacific Reporter 182 615/1 Touching the question of burden of proof, the trial judge instructed the jury as follows.
1997 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 23 Feb. (Book Review) 27/1 Touching the matter of Wilfred, Jeeves. Can it be that because of this piffling prejudice, you refuse to rally round the young master in his hour of peril?
b. Preceded by as. Cf. slightly earlier (as) touching to (also of, for) at Phrases.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > relation [preposition] > respecting or concerning
ofOE
to-gainsc1175
againsta1225
anentc1225
towarda1240
froc1300
aforyen1340
again1340
touchinga1387
touchinga1398
touchant1399
concerning1525
re1707
fornent1709
regarding1779
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. cxxiii. 1019 Picche..defouleþ white..cloþes and clene, and suche defoule is vnneþe ytake awey from clothe as [emended in ed. to clothes] touchynge þe colour and sauour.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 705 Mo than a thousand stories..Koude I now telle as touchyng this matere.
1428 in C. Innes Liber Sancte Marie de Melros (1837) 521 As twichand þe plew of lande in þe husbandry..þe assis saide it nedit na departisoun.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lix. 203 What counsell wyl ye geue me as touchyng ye admyrall?
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 47 As touchyng your opinion, that th' Earth is flat, I will prove it to be rounde.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. x. xxxii. 287 As touching the Guls or Sea-cobs, they build in rockes.
1659 J. Bunyan Doctr. Law & Grace Unfolded 67 If you would be satisfied, as touching the truth of this, do but read the third of the Galatians at the 10. verse.
a1713 A. Pitcairn Assembly (1722) v. i. 86 But as touching the worthy Primar, his Folly is like the old Man's sore Horse's Back; cure it in one Place, and it will break out in another.
1780 M. Madan Thelyphthora (1781) I. 105 The exceeding ignorance of mankind as touching the acts and dispensations of that infinitely wise Being.
1850 N. Hawthorne Scarlet Let. iii. 77 This godly youth..should deal with you..as touching the vileness and blackness of your sin.
1890 E. A. Freeman in W. R. W. Stephens Life & Lett. E. A. Freeman (1895) II. 420 Your facts are very valuable, specially as touching your own stay in Crete.
1955 Polit. Sci. Q. 70 496 As touching the major parties we can agree that the process of extra-parliamentary-party control of politics has not gone far.
1992 Arion Spring–Fall 142 No one can read this book without having his conceptions enlarged, not only as touching Greek literature, but as touching the whole history of literary expression.
Phrases
† (as) touching to (also of, for): = main sense. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Bodl. 902) viii. l. 2993* (MED) In his persone it mai be schewed What is a king to be wel thewed, Touchinge of pite namely.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 2633 And as touchende of this bataille, Thou schalt noght of the sothe faile.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 842 (MED) Now tell me forth if ther be more As touchende unto Wraththes lore.
1417–19 in Paston Lett. (1904) II. 8 As towchyng to the derth of vytayles withyn this..Cytee.
1456–7 in C. Welch Hist. Pewterers of London (1902) I. 20 (MED) Item, to haue in mynde of awarde made bytwene the felaship of þe Crafte of Peauterers & John Turnor & Richard lawton..as for offence don to þe same Crafte touching for the lyuere.
1534 W. Turner tr. J. von Watt Of Olde God & Newe sig. Piv Speake as towchyng to ye workes of theym selues.
1571 J. Chillester tr. ‘Chelidonius Tigurinus’ Inst. Christian Princes iii. 38 As touching of Kings of Israell, if thou wilt well searche out their lyues,..thou shalte finde that all they in generall were euill Ministers of the Common wealth.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments xviii. 179 The Preestes chose one among themselues, which shulde dyrecte and ordre the other, as touchynge to the exercysynge of the Ecclesiasticall offyce.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. v. 218 As touching to the third part of Penance, We will, that all Bishops and Preachers shall instruct..that..all men truly penitent, contrite and confessed, must needs also bring forth the fruits of penance.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.c1300
adj.a1586prep.a1387