touchlessadj.
/ˈtʌtʃləs/, U.S. /ˈtətʃləs/ 1. Lacking a sense of touch; unable to feel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > [adjective] > having no sense of touch
touchless1613
1613 R. Allyne Funerall Elegies Prince Henry sig. A3v Blind, touchles, tasteles, deafe, and senceles snake.
1871 T. H. Huxley Critiques & Addr. (1873) xiii. 343 Of course our touchless man would be devoid of any notion of resistance.
1916 A. Huxley Burning Wheel 13 Stupid and dumb And blind and touchless.
2006 C. Classen & D. Howes in E. Edwards et al. Gender, Race, Class & Health & Material Culture vii. 211 They were rendered touchless, speechless, and smell-less.
2. Incapable of being touched, intangible; immaterial, incorporeal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > immateriality > [adjective] > not perceptible by the senses or beyond the senses
unsensiblec1380
insensible1509
imperceptible1536
ungropable1558
untouchable1567
unfeelable1609
unsensive1616
intactible1623
intangible1640
supersensual1647
intactile1660
supersensitive1701
touchless1767
supersensible1795
untangible1816
insensile1822
ungraspable1822
suprasensitive1825
suprasensible1831
suprasensuous1838
subsensual1840
unsensuous1850
supersensational1853
insensuousa1861
1767 J. Barclay Rejoice Evermore cxix. 175 Touchless and viewless as the wind, The phantom flies.
1813 T. Busby tr. Lucretius Nature of Things I. iii. 936 As the touchless space, they're free from blow.
1888 B. W. Richardson Son of Star I. xii. 184 Touchless with human hands, Sightless with human eyes.
1966 Hispanic Rev. 34 316 Legend, in any case, through its inevitably pure and touchless reality, could not fail to appeal strongly to Pessoa.
2010 E. Hunter Fire in Sky i. 1 They were bathed in waves of cool flame, soundless, touchless, carried in the air like wind.
3. Designating devices which are controlled by a function that senses physical movements, gestures, etc., rather than by the use of a control or interface operated by touch; of or relating to such devices.
ΚΠ
1929 Amer. Weekly 9 June 5/6 Another variety of touchless door is based on a device..in which a slight blow of the breath on a sensitive wind-vane apparatus starts the electric force that opens the door.
1978 Financial Times 12 June 5/1 Touchless access... The latest variant in door access control..has neither card slots nor push buttons.
1989 Hobart Mercury (Nexis) 20 Feb. These taps are touchless, activated by an electronic beam so you never have to touch a potentially unclean handle.
2007 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 14 Jan. v. 3/3 (caption) Morita demonstrates a touchless device that would allow doctors to scroll information.
2014 PC Mag. (Nexis) 30 Oct. Moto Actions uses infrared sensors to enable touchless gesture controls.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1613