contour

Etymology

Borrowed from French contour, from contourner, equivalent to con- + tour.

noun

1. An outline, boundary or border, usually of curved shape.
   the low drag contour of a modern automobile
   The semi-streamlined contour of the earlier G.W.R. railcars has been given up in favour of a more utilitarian blunt-nose end, and effective floor space gained thereby. 1941 October, “Notes and News: Great Western Parcels Railcar”, in Railway Magazine, page 474
2. A line on a map or chart delineating those points which have the same altitude or other plotted quantity: a contour line or isopleth.
3. (linguistics) a speech sound which behaves as a single segment, but which makes an internal transition from one quality, place, or manner to another.
4. (figurative) A general description giving the most important points.
   Contours of a deal with conservative holdouts who had been blocking McCarthy’s rise had emerged the night before, and took hold after four dismal days and 14 failed votes in an intraparty standoff unseen in modern times. January 7 2023, Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri, “McCarthy elected House speaker in rowdy post-midnight vote”, in AP News

verb

1. (transitive) To form a more or less curved boundary or border upon.
2. (transitive) To mark with contour lines.
3. (intransitive) To practise the makeup technique of contouring.
   What is the French-preferred method to add dimension to the skin, if not to contour? Apr. 29, 2015, Kathleen Hou, “Why French Women Don’t Contour”, in The Cut, New York, U.S.A.: Vox Media, retrieved 2020-07-02