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Touch vs It - What's the difference?

touch | it |

As a verb touch

is primarily physical senses.

As a noun touch

is an act of touching, especially with the hand or finger.

As a symbol it is

the iso 3166-1 two-letter (alpha-2) code for italy.

touch

English

Verb

(es)
  • Primarily physical senses.
  • # (label) To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with.
  • # (label) To come into (involuntary) contact with; to meet or intersect.
  • # (label) To come into physical contact, or to be in physical contact.
  • # (label) To make physical contact with a thing.
  • # (label) To physically disturb; to interfere with, molest, or attempt to harm through contact.
  • #* (Bible), (w) xxvi. 28, 29
  • Let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee.
  • # (label) To physically affect in specific ways implied by context.
  • # (label) To consume, or otherwise use.
  • #*{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
  • , passage=But Richmond
  • # (label) Of a ship or its passengers: to land, to make a short stop (at).
  • #* 1851 , (Herman Melville), (Moby-Dick) :
  • Now a certain grand merchant ship once touched at Rokovoko, and its commander — from all accounts, a very stately punctilious gentleman, at least for a sea captain — this commander was invited to the wedding feast of Queequeg's sister, a pretty young princess just turned of ten.
  • #
  • #* 1971 , , Religion and the Decline of Magic , Folio Society (2012), page 189:
  • But in fact the English kings of the seventeenth century usually began to touch form the day of their accession, without waiting for any such consecration.
  • #
  • # To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.
  • #* (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
  • Strong waters pierce metals, and will touch' upon gold, that will not ' touch upon silver.
  • # (label) To bring (a sail) so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.
  • # To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.
  • # (label) To keep the ship as near (the wind) as possible.
  • Primarily non-physical senses.
  • # (label) To imbue or endow with a specific quality.
  • #
  • #*, I.2.4.vii:
  • Next to sorrow still I may annex such accidents as procure fear; for besides those terrors which I have before touched ,which much trouble many of us.
  • # (label) To deal with in speech or writing; briefly to speak or write (on'' or ''upon something).
  • #* 1886 , (Robert Louis Stevenson), (Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde)
  • "Well, but since we have touched upon this business, and for the last time I hope," continued the doctor, "there is one point I should like you to understand."
  • # (label) To concern, to have to do with.
  • #* 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , (w) V:
  • Men of Israhell take hede to youreselves what ye entende to do as touchinge these men.
  • #*
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.}}
  • #* 1919 , (Saki), ‘The Penance’, The Toys of Peace , Penguin 2000 (Complete Short Stories), p. 423:
  • And now it seemed he was engaged in something which touched them closely, but must be hidden from their knowledge.
  • # (label) To affect emotionally; to bring about tender or painful feelings in.
  • #
  • #
  • # (label) To obtain money from, usually by borrowing (from a friend).
  • #
  • # (label) To be on the level of; to approach in excellence or quality.
  • #* 1928 , , "The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers", in (Lord Peter Views the Body) ,
  • There was his mistress, Maria Morano. I don't think I've ever seen anything to touch her, and when you work for the screen [as I do] you're apt to have a pretty exacting standard of female beauty.
  • #* 2012 , July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track
  • On Sunday afternoon it was as dark as night, with barely room for two riders abreast on a gradient that touches 20%.
  • # To mark (a file or document) as having been modified.
  • To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • I mean to touch your love indeed.
  • To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.
  • * (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
  • The lines, though touched but faintly, are drawn right.
  • (label) To infect; to affect slightly.
  • (Francis Bacon)
  • To strike; to manipulate; to play on.
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • [They] touched their golden harps.
  • To perform, as a tune; to play.
  • * Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)
  • A person in the royal retinue touched a light and lively air on the flageolet.
  • To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • No decree of mine,[to] touch with lightest moment of impulse his free will.

    Derived terms

    * touch a nerve * touch base * touch bottom * touch down * touch off * touch on * touch the hem of someone's garment * touch up * touch wood

    Noun

    (es)
  • An act of touching, especially with the hand or finger.
  • Suddenly, in the crowd, I felt a touch at my shoulder.
  • The faculty or sense of perception by physical contact.
  • With the lights out, she had to rely on touch to find her desk.
  • The style or technique with which one plays a musical instrument.
  • He performed one of Ravel's piano concertos with a wonderfully light and playful touch .
  • A distinguishing feature or characteristic.
  • Clever touches like this are what make her such a brilliant writer.
  • A little bit; a small amount.
  • Move it left just a touch and it will be perfect.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Madam, I have a touch of your condition.
  • The part of a sports field beyond the touchlines or goal-lines.
  • He got the ball, and kicked it straight out into touch .
  • A relationship of close communication or understanding.
  • He promised to keep in touch while he was away.
  • The ability to perform a task well; aptitude.
  • I used to be a great chess player but I've lost my touch .
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=September 29 , author=Jon Smith , title=Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Rovers' hopes of pulling off one of the great European shocks of all time lasted just 10 minutes before Spurs finally found their scoring touch .}}
  • Act or power of exciting emotion.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Not alone / The death of Fulvia, with more urgent touches , / Do strongly speak to us.
  • An emotion or affection.
  • * Hooker
  • a true, natural, and a sensible touch of mercy
  • Personal reference or application.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • Speech of touch toward others should be sparingly used.
  • A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.
  • * Dryden
  • Never give the least touch with your pencil till you have well examined your design.
  • A brief essay.
  • * Jonathan Swift
  • Print my preface in such form as, in the booksellers' phrase, will make a sixpenny touch .
  • A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Now do I play the touch .
  • * Fuller
  • a neat new monument of touch and alabaster
  • Examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.
  • * Carew
  • equity, the true touch of all laws
  • * Shakespeare
  • friends of noble touch
  • The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers.
  • a heavy touch''', or a light '''touch
  • The broadest part of a plank worked top and but, or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters.
  • The children's game of tag.
  • Derived terms

    * common touch * in touch * light touch * lose one's touch * lose touch * out of touch * soft touch * touch football * touch-kick * touchless * touch oneself * touch-paper * touch piece * touch-type

    Statistics

    *

    it

    English

    (wikipedia it)

    Alternative forms

    * (dialectal) (l)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), (m) ( > English dialectal . More at (l).

    Alternative forms

    * itt (obsolete)

    Pronoun

  • The third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to an inanimate object, to an inanimate thing with no or unknown sex or gender.
  • Put it over there.
    Take each day as it comes.
  • A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to a child of unknown gender.
  • She took the baby and held it in her arms.
  • * 1847 , Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre , Chapter IV:
  • A child cannot quarrel with its' elders, as I had done; cannot give ' its furious feelings uncontrolled play, as I had given mine, without experiencing afterwards the pang of remorse and the chill of reaction.
  • Used to refer to oneself when identifying oneself, often on the phone, but not limited to this situation.
  • It' s me. John.
  • The impersonal pronoun, used without referent as the subject of an impersonal verb or statement. (known as the dummy pronoun or weather it)
  • It is nearly 10 o’clock.
    It ’s very cold today.
    It ’s lonely without you.
  • The impersonal pronoun, used as a placeholder for a delayed subject, or less commonly, object. (known as the dummy pronoun or, more formally in linguistics, a syntactic expletive)
  • It is easy to see how she would think that.
    I find it odd that you would say that.
    He saw to it that everyone would vote for him.
  • All or the end; something after which there is no more.
  • Are there more students in this class, or is this it ?
    That's it —I'm not going to any more candy stores with you.
  • (obsolete, relative) That which; what.
  • * 1643 , (Thomas Browne), Religio Medici , II.2:
  • In briefe, I am content, and what should providence add more? Surely this is it wee call Happinesse, and this doe I enjoy [...].
    : See for other personal pronouns.
    Derived terms
    (Derived terms) * buy it * do it * for it * move it * that’s it * watch it
    See also
    * he * her * him * I * me * she * thee * them * they * thou * us * we * ye * you

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who is neither a he nor a she; a creature; a dehumanized being.
  • * 1995 , Neil Weiner, Sharon E. Robinson Kurpius, Shattered innocence (page 8)
  • Too often, children become an "it " in their homes and their humanness is devalued.
  • * 1920 , (Herman Cyril McNeile), Bulldog Drummond Chapter 1
  • His master glanced up quickly, and removed the letter from his hands. "I'm surprised at you, James," he remarked severely. "A secretary should control itself. Don't forget that the perfect secretary is an it : an automatic machine—a thing incapable of feeling.…"
  • The person who chases and tries to catch the other players in the playground game of tag.
  • In the next game, Adam and Tom will be it
  • * 2000 , Katherine T. Thomas, Amelia M. Lee, Jerry R. Thomas, Physical education for children (page 464)
  • When there are only two children left who haven't been tagged, I will stop the game, and we will start over with those children starting as the Its .
  • (British, uncountable) The game of tag.
  • Let's play it at breaktime.

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (colloquial) most fashionable.
  • * Vibe , Vol. 15, No. 9, p. 202, September 2007:
  • Going away for the weekend and feel the need to profile en route? This is the "it " bag.
  • * David Germain, Hilarious ‘Kick-Ass’ delivers bloody fun , Associated Press, 2010:
  • With Hit Girl, Moretz is this year's It Girl, alternately sweet, savage and scary.

    Etymology 2

    Abbreviation

    (Abbreviation) (head)
  • (language) Italian.
  • Italy.
  • Derived terms
    * gin and it, gin-and-It
    See also
    * IT

    Statistics

    *