WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Con*tour"
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [F. contour, fr. contourner to mark the outlines; con- + tourner to turn. See Turn.]
Definition : 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.)

Defn: The outline of a horizontal section of the ground, or of works of fortification. Contour feathers (Zo?l.), 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.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913