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 Zool., 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.

 

© Webster 1913.