Him thus intent Ithuriel with his spear Touched
lightly. --Milton.
2. To perceive by the sense of feeling.
Nothing but body can be touched or touch. --Greech.
3. To come to; to reach; to attain to.
The god, vindictive, doomed them never more- Ah, men
unblessed! -- to touch their natal shore. --Pope.
4. To try; to prove, as with a touchstone. [Obs.]
Wherein I mean to touch your love indeed. --Shak.
5. To relate to; to concern; to affect.
The quarrel toucheth none but us alone. --Shak.
6. To handle, speak of, or deal with; to treat of.
Storial thing that toucheth gentilesse. --Chaucer.
7. To meddle or interfere with; as, I have not touched the
books. --Pope.
8. To affect the senses or the sensibility of; to move; to
melt; to soften.
What of sweet before Hath touched my sense, flat
seems to this and harsh. --Milton.
The tender sire was touched with what he said.
--Addison.
9. To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke
to with the pencil or brush.
The lines, though touched but faintly, are drawn
right. --Pope.
10. To infect; to affect slightly. --Bacon.
11. To make an impression on; to have effect upon.
Its face . . . so hard that a file will not touch
it. --Moxon.
12. To strike; to manipulate; to play on; as, to touch an
instrument of music.
[They] touched their golden harps. --Milton.
13. To perform, as a tune; to play.
A person is the royal retinue touched a light and
lively air on the flageolet. --Sir W.
Scott.
14. To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly. `` No decree
of mine, . . . [to] touch with lightest moment of impulse
his free will,'' --Milton.
15. To harm, afflict, or distress.
Let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do
us no hurt, as we have not touched thee. --Gen.
xxvi. 28, 29.
16. To affect with insanity, especially in a slight degree;
to make partially insane; -- rarely used except in the
past participle.
She feared his head was a little touched. --Ld.
Lytton.
17. (Geom.) To be tangent to. See {Tangent}, a.
18. To lay a hand upon for curing disease.
{To touch a sail} (Naut.), to bring it so close to the wind
that its weather leech shakes.
{To touch the wind} (Naut.), to keep the ship as near the
wind as possible.
{To touch up}, to repair; to improve by touches or
emendation.