CONTABESCENT
Con`ta*bes"cent, a. Etym: [L. contabescenc, p.pr. of contabescere.]
Defn: Wasting away gradually. Darwin. - Con*ta*bes"cence, n.
CONTACT Con"tact, n. Etym: [L. contactus, fr. contingere, -tactum, to touch on all sides. See Contingent.]
1. A close union or junction of bodies; a touching or meeting.
2. (Geom.)
Defn: The property of two curves, or surfaces, which meet, and at the point of meeting have a common direction.
3. (Mining)
Defn: The plane between two adjacent bodies of dissimilar rock. Raymond. Contact level, a delicate level so pivoted as to tilt when two parts of a measuring apparatus come into contact with each other; — used in precise determinations of lengths and in the accurate graduation of instruments.
CONTACTION
Con*tac"tion, n.
Defn: Act of touching. [Obs.]