Hypertext Webster Gateway: "contour"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Contour \Con*tour"\, n. [F. contour, fr. contourner to mark the
outlines; con- + tourner to turn. See {Turn}.]
1. The outline of a figure or body, or the line or lines
representing such an outline; the line that bounds;
periphery.
Titian's coloring and contours. --A. Drummond.
2. (Mil.) The outline of a horizontal section of the ground,
or of works of fortification.
{Contour feathers} (Zo["o]l.), those feathers that form the
general covering of a bird.
{Contour of ground} (Surv.), the outline of the surface of
ground with respect to its undulation, etc.
{Contour line} (Topographical Suv.), the line in which a
horizontal plane intersects a portion of ground, or the
corresponding line in a map or chart.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
contour
n 1: a line drawn on a map connecting points of equal height
[syn: {contour line}]
2: any spatial attribute (especially as defined by outline);
"he could barely make out their shapes through the smoke"
[syn: {shape}, {form}, {configuration}]
v : form the contours of
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