n.
Pronunciation: ' kän- ˌ tu ̇ r
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Italian contorno, from contornare to round off, from Medieval Latin, to turn around, from Latin com- + tornare to turn on a lathe ― more at TURN
Date: 1662
1 : an outline especially of a curving or irregular figure : SHAPE also : the line representing this outline
2 : the general form or structure of something : CHARACTERISTIC ― often used in plural < contour s of a melody> <to delineate the tortured psychological contour s of the tribal past ― B. J. Phillips>
3 : a usually meaningful change in intonation in speech
synonyms see OUTLINE