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.