Main Entry: ¹con·tour

Pronunciation: \ˈkän-ˌtu̇r\

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 <contours of a melody> <to delineate the tortured psychological contours of the tribal past — B. J. Phillips>
3 : a usually meaningful change in intonation in speech

synonyms see outline