from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Contour \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.
[1913 Webster]
Titian's coloring and contours. --A. Drummond.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Mil.) The outline of a horizontal section of the ground,
or of works of fortification.
[1913 Webster]
{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.
[1913 Webster]