Hypertext Webster Gateway: "contact"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Contact \Con"tact\, n. [L. contactus, fr. contingere, -tactum,
to touch on all sides. See {Contingent}.]
1. A close union or junction of bodies; a touching or
meeting.
2. (Geom.) The property of two curves, or surfaces, which
meet, and at the point of meeting have a common direction.
3. (Mining) The plane between two adjacent bodies of
dissimilar rock. --Raymond.
{Contact level}, a delicate level so pivoted as to tilt when
two parts of a measuring apparatus come into contact with
each other; -- used in precise determinations of lengths
and in the accurate graduation of instruments.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
contact
n 1: close interaction: "they kept in daily contact"; "they
claimed that they had been in contact with
extraterrestrial beings"
2: the state or condition of touching or of being in immediate
proximity: "litmus paper turns red on contact with an
acid"
3: the act of touching physically; "her fingers came in contact
with the light switch"
4: the physical coming together of two or more things; "contact
with the pier scraped paint from the hull" [syn: {impinging},
{striking}]
5: a person who is in a position to give you special
assistance; "he used his business contacts to get an
introduction to the governor" [syn: {middleman}]
6: a channel for communication between groups; "he provided a
liaison with the guerrillas" [syn: {liaison}, {link}, {inter-group
communication}]
7: a junction where things (as two electrical conductors) touch
or are in physical contact; "they forget to solder the
contacts" [syn: {tangency}]
8: a communicative interaction; "the pilot made contact with
the base"; "he got in touch with his colleagues" [syn: {touch}]
v 1: be in communication with, establish communication with; "Our
advertisements reach millions"; "He never contacted his
children after he emigrated to Australia" [syn: {reach},
{get through}, {get hold of}]
2: be in direct physical contact with; make contact; "The two
buildings touch"; "Their hands touched"; "The wire must
not contact the metal cover"; "The surfaces contact at
this point" [syn: {touch}, {adjoin}, {meet}]
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