contact

contact
contactual /kon tak"chooh euhl/, adj.contactually, adv.
/kon"takt/, n.
1. the act or state of touching; a touching or meeting, as of two things or people.
2. immediate proximity or association.
3. an acquaintance, colleague, or relative through whom a person can gain access to information, favors, influential people, and the like.
4. Elect. a junction of electric conductors, usually metal, that controls current flow, often completing or interrupting a circuit.
5. Geol. the interface, generally a planar surface, between strata that differ in lithology or age.
6. Med. a person who has lately been exposed to an infected person.
7. Sociol. a condition in which two or more individuals or groups are placed in communication with each other. Cf. categoric contact, primary contact, secondary contact, sympathetic contact.
8. See contact lens.
v.t.
9. to put or bring into contact.
10. to communicate with: We'll contact you by mail or telephone.
v.i.
11. to enter into or be in contact.
adj.
12. involving or produced by touching or proximity: contact allergy.
[1620-30; < L contactus a touching, equiv. to contac- < *contag-, var. s. of contingere to touch (con- CON- + -tingere, comb. form of tangere to touch) + -tus suffix of v. action; cf. TANGO, ATTAIN]
Usage. Many verbs in English have derived from nouns. One can head an organization or toe the mark; butter the bread or bread the cutlet. Hence, grammatically at least, there is no historical justification for the once frequently heard criticism of CONTACT used as a verb meaning "to communicate with": The managing editor contacted each reporter personally.
Despite the earlier objections to it and probably largely because there is no other one-word verb in the language to express the same idea, this use of CONTACT has become standard in all types of speech and writing. CONTACT as a noun meaning "a person through whom one can gain access to information and the like" is also standard: My contact at the embassy says that the coup has been successful.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • contact — [ kɔ̃takt ] n. m. • 1586; didact. av. XIXe; lat. contactus, rac. tangere « toucher » → tact 1 ♦ Position, état relatif de corps qui se touchent. Contact fugitif, prolongé. Certaines maladies se communiquent par contact direct. ⇒ contagieux.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Contact FM — Contact (radio) Création 1982 Propriétaire Contact Groupe Slogan « Enjoy Your Life ! » Langue Français Pays …   Wikipédia en Français

  • contact — con‧tact [ˈkɒntækt ǁ ˈkɑːn ] noun [countable] a person you know who may be able to help or advise you, especially because of the work they do: • He has a lot of contacts in the media. • There are some excellent opportunities around, if you ask… …   Financial and business terms

  • contact — CONTÁCT, contacte, s.n. 1. Atingere directă, nemijlocită între două corpuri, două forţe, două energii etc. ♢ expr. În contact cu... = în nemijlocită apropiere de..., în legătură strânsă cu... ♦ (concr.) Piesă care serveşte la stabilirea unui… …   Dicționar Român

  • Contact — (englisch für Kontakt) steht für: Contact!, Album der italienischen Band Eiffel 65 Contact (Band), österreichisches Popduo Contact (Computerspiel), Videospiel für Nintendo DS Contact (Legespiel), Kinderspiel von Ken Garland Contact (Roman), Roman …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Contact FM — City of license Hamilton Broadcast area Hamilton Worldwide (Internet) Frequency 88.1 MHz First air date 1976 Format Student radio …   Wikipedia

  • contact — n Contact, touch mean the state or fact of coming into direct connection or close association with someone or something. Contact implies the mutual relation between two bodies that impinge upon each other {the tangent at its point of contact with …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • contact — [kän′takt΄; ] for v. [, ] occas. [ kən takt′] n. [L contactus, pp. of contingere, to touch, seize < com , together + tangere, to touch: see TACT] 1. the act or state of touching or meeting [two surfaces in contact] 2. the state or fact of… …   English World dictionary

  • Contact 94 — was a radio station that broadcast from France to the Channel Islands between 1988 and 1991.[1] See also Channel 103 BBC Radio Jersey Island FM BBC Radio Guernsey References ^ Contact 94 Reunion September 2008, Paul Easton Flickr Page …   Wikipedia

  • Contact — Con tact (k[o^]n t[a^]kt), n. [L. contactus, fr. contingere, tactum, to touch on all sides. See {Contingent}.] 1. A close union or junction of bodies; a touching or meeting. [1913 Webster] 2. (Geom.) The property of two curves, or surfaces, which …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • contact — (n.) 1620s, action of touching, from L. contactus a touching, from pp. of contingere to touch, seize, from com together (see COM (Cf. com )) + tangere to touch (see TANGENT (Cf. tangent)). Figurative sense of connection, communication …   Etymology dictionary

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