touchpointn.
/ˈtʌtʃpɔɪnt/, U.S. /ˈtətʃˌpɔɪnt/ 1. Geometry. A point at which two or more lines or other geometric figures meet, typically without passing through one another (even if extended). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > point > [noun] > of intersection or contact
toucha1398
touchpoint1585
foot1652
contact1660
section?1677
origin1723
node1866
biflecnode1879
intersect1886
meet1893
1585 J. Blagrave Math. Iewel i. 4 Draw a line from any point of the touchline AB. vnto the centre of the circle vz. EC. and thereon make a semicircle vz. EDC. which shall cut the touchline and the circle in the very touch point vz. D.
1602 T. Blundeville Theoriques Seven Planets 29 The Touch-point, otherwise called the point of concauitie.
1690 I. Newton Let. Mar. in Corr. (1961) III. 72 If a right line touch an Ellipsis in any point thereof, & parallel to yt tangent be drawn another right line from ye center of ye Ellipsis wch shall intersect a third right line drawn from ye touch-point through either focus of ye ellipsis; ye segment of ye last-named right line lying between ye point of intersection & ye point of contact shall be Equall to half ye long Axis of ye Ellipsis.
?a1729 J. Ward Posthumous Wks. (1730) 33 From A, by the Point D, which is the Touch-Point, draw the Line A B, which touches the Circle only in the Point D.
1977 Econometrica 45 167 Suppose the touch point is z(00) and the shadow prices associated with it are w(00).
2. An issue, matter, or circumstance which acts as the primary point of contention in a dispute, argument, etc., esp. one which remains unresolved and could reinflame animosity and cause further conflict.
ΚΠ
1865 T. D'arcy McGee Two Speeches Union Provinces 20/2 We will be at the mercy of our neighbors... They will have the power to strike when they please, and this is precisely..the only touch point of the whole question.
1977 Big Spring (Texas) Herald 25 Dec. 2 a/1 A small cross used in the Christmas edition of a high school newspaper has become the touchpoint of a controversy over the separation of church and state.
1991 Britain's Gulf War 15/3 So much remains to be done to take the fleeting opportunities there may be still in the Middle East to make it a safer and less terrible touchpoint for world conflagration.
2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 23 Aug. a8/4 Mr. Bush was..rearguing a conflict that ended more than three decades ago but has remained an emotional touch point.
3. A point of contact or interaction between people, now esp. between a business and its customers or consumers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > contact, connection, or dealings > point of contact
point of contact1862
touchpoint1889
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Apr. 4/3 He sought to get some touchpoint and means of contact..with public opinion in Ireland.
1970 Joplin (Missouri) News Herald 9 Mar. 7 a/4 They are..White House correspondents and Ziegler is their only touchpoint with a certain Richard Milhous Nixon, who lives there.
1988 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 7 Oct. 32 The most obvious touchpoint would be through regional Department of Social Security offices.
1999 N.Y. Times 2 Aug. c8 (advt.) How are others managing e-relationships?.. How are they integrating customer touch points?
2013 Guardian 18 Sept. (Retail Tech. Suppl.) 5/1 It helps to visualise an ‘endless aisle’, a continuum of products..that the customer can access and purchase from any touch-point.
4. A touch-sensitive area on an electronic device.
ΚΠ
1969 EDN 15 Dec. 45/2 This type of display could..be part of a learning system for..children. A picture of a cat could be shown above the touchpoints, and the child would have to find and touch the point labeled ‘cat’.
1973 Financial Times 21 May 14/3 To make a selection, the operator merely touches the appropriate touch point and a coded signal informs the computer of the choice.
1985 Business Wire (Nexis) 19 Nov. Zenith Electronics..introduced a new system for controlling interactive video displays that..creates an invisible matrix of touchpoints across the face of a cathode ray tube.
2010 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 4 Jan. b6/1 Devices like the iPhone use a technology called capacitive touch and require contact with skin to activate a touch point.
5. Psychology. A time in a child's development that precedes an appreciable leap in behavioural or emotional growth.
ΚΠ
1990 Child Devel. 61 1668 ‘Touchpoints’..represent opportunities for clinicians and researchers to enter into the developing systems in the baby.
1993 Sci. News 143 50 Touchpoints are times parents can use to understand and help develop their child's behavioral patterns.
2001 U.S. News & World Rep. 17 Sept. 76/1 This storm before the lull is what Brazelton calls a touchpoint... Brazelton explored the earliest years in his 1992 bestseller, Touchpoints.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1585