contact

English

Etymology

From Latin contactus, from contingō (“I touch on all sides”), from tangō (“I touch”). Used in English since the 17th century.

Pronunciation

• (noun):

  (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑntækt/

  (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒntækt/

• (verb):

  (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑntækt/, /kənˈtækt/

  (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒntækt/, /kənˈtækt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ækt

Noun

contact (countable and uncountable, plural contacts)

1. The act of touching physically; being in close association.
   • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 1, in Death on the Centre Court:

     She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.

2. The establishment of communication (with).

   I haven't been in contact with her for years.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     In the old days, […] he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.

3. The situation of being within sight of something; visual contact.
   • 1983, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Operations. Government Activities and Transportation Subcommittee, Hazardous Obstructions at San Francisco Airport, page 126:

     If the pilot […] cannot establish visual contact with the ground, he must immediately execute a missed-approach procedure […]

4. A nodule designed to connect a device with something else.

   Touch the contact to ground and read the number again.

5. Someone who can be contacted, or with whom one is in communication.
   1. (by extension) Means of communication with a person, especially in the form of a telephone number.

   Who is the company's contact for sales queries?

   The salesperson had a whole binder full of contacts for potential clients.

6. (informal) A contact lens.
7. (electricity) A device designed for repetitive connections.
8. (informal, by ellipsis) Contact juggling.

   I bought myself a new contact ball last week

9. (mining) The plane between two adjacent bodies of dissimilar rock.

Derived terms

• anticontact
• body contact
• circle contact lens
• contactable
• contact ball
• contact binary
• contact call
• contact card
• contact details
• contact explosive
• contact-free
• contact geometry
• contact high
• contact hitter
• contactin
• contact inhibition
• contactization
• contact language
• contact lens
• contactless
• contact level
• contact linguistics
• contact manifold
• contact metamorphism
• contact number
• contact person
• contact print
• contact process
• contact shoe
• contact sport
• contact time
• contact trace, contact-trace
• contact tracer
• contact tracing, contact-tracing
• contactual
• contact wire
• coontact
• cross-contact
• electrical contact
• eye contact
• first contact
• fourth contact
• fourth point of contact
• golden contact
• intercontact
• language contact
• line of contact
• make contact with
• microcontact
• multicontact
• nanocontact
• no battle plan survives contact with the enemy
• no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy
• non-contact, noncontact
• no plan survives contact with the enemy
• no plan survives first contact with the enemy
• on contact
• overcontact
• paleocontact
• paracontact
• patient contact
• point of contact / POC
• postcontact
• precontact
• pseudocontact
• rolling contact
• second contact
• semicontact
• tactical contact
• thermal contact
• third contact
• untact

 

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *teh₂g- (2 c, 0 e)

Translations

an act of touching physically

• American Sign Language: Open8@Finger-TipUp-Open8@CenterChesthigh-TipUp Contact
• Arabic: مُلَامَسَة f (mulāmasa)
• Azerbaijani: toxunuş, təmas
• Belarusian: канта́кт m (kantákt)
• Bulgarian: допир (bg) m (dopir)
• Catalan: contacte (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 接觸／接触 (zh) (jiēchù)

• Czech: kontakt (cs) m, dotek (cs) m
• Danish: kontakt ?, forbindelse (da) ?
• Dutch: contact (nl) ?
• Esperanto: kontakto
• Finnish: kosketus (fi), kontakti (fi)
• French: contact (fr) m
• Georgian: შეხება (šexeba), კონტაქტი (ḳonṭakṭi)
• German: Kontakt (de) m, Berührung (de) f
• Greek: επαφή (el) f (epafí)
• Hungarian: kapcsolat (hu)
• Icelandic: snerting f
• Italian: contatto (it) m, aggancio (it) m
• Japanese: 接触 (ja) (せっしょく, sesshoku)
• Korean: 접촉 (ko) (jeopchok)
• Latin: contactus (la) m, contāgēs f
• Luxembourgish: Kontakt m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: berøring m or f

  Nynorsk: berøring f

• Persian: لمس (fa) (lams), تماس (fa) (tamâs)
• Polish: kontakt (pl) m
• Portuguese: contato (pt) m (Brazil), contacto (pt) m (Portugal)
• Romanian: contact (ro) n, atingere (ro) f
• Russian: конта́кт (ru) m (kontákt), соприкоснове́ние (ru) n (soprikosnovénije), прикоснове́ние (ru) n (prikosnovénije)
• Spanish: contacto (es) m
• Swedish: kontakt (sv) c
• Tamil: தொடல் (ta) (toṭal)
• Thai: แตะต้อง (th) (dtɛ̀-dtɔ̂ng)
• Ukrainian: конта́кт m (kontákt)
• Vietnamese: sự chạm (vi)
• Volapük: kontag (vo)

an establishment of communication

• American Sign Language: Open8@Finger-TipUpPalmForward-Open8@CenterChesthigh-TipUpPalmBack Contact
• Arabic: إتِّصال m (ʔittiṣāl)
• Azerbaijani: əlaqə (az)
• Belarusian: канта́кт m (kantákt), су́вязь f (súvjazʹ)
• Bulgarian: свързване (bg) n (svǎrzvane), конта́кт (bg) m (kontákt)
• Catalan: contacte (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聯繫／联系 (zh) (liánxì); 交往 (zh) (jiāowǎng); 通訊／通讯 (zh) (tōngxùn), 聯絡／联络 (zh) (liánluò)

• Czech: kontakt (cs) m inan, spojení (cs) n
• Dutch: contact (nl) ?
• Finnish: yhteydenotto (fi), kontakti (fi), yhteys (fi)
• French: contact (fr) m
• Georgian: დაკავშირება (daḳavšireba), დაკონტაქტება (daḳonṭakṭeba)
• German: Kontakt (de) m, Verbindung (de) f
• Greek: επικοινωνία (el) f (epikoinonía)
• Hindi: संपर्क (hi) ? (sampark)
• Hungarian: érintkezés (hu)
• Icelandic: samband (is) n
• Italian: contatto (it) m
• Japanese: 接触 (ja) (せっしょく, sesshoku), 連絡 (ja) (れんらく, renraku)
• Korean: 접촉 (ko) (jeopchok), 연락 (ko) (yeollak)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: پەیوەند (peywend)

  Northern Kurdish: têkilî (ku) f

• Luxembourgish: Kontakt m
• Persian: تماس (fa) (tamâs)
• Polish: kontakt (pl) m
• Portuguese: contato (pt) m (Brazil), contacto (pt) m (Portugal)
• Romanian: legătură (ro) f, contact (ro) n
• Russian: конта́кт (ru) m (kontákt), связь (ru) f (svjazʹ)
• Swedish: kontakt (sv) c
• Tamil: தொடர்பு (ta) (toṭarpu)
• Thai: ติดต่อ (th) (dtìt-dtɔ̀ɔ)
• Ukrainian: конта́кт m (kontákt), зв'язо́к (uk) m (zvʺjazók)
• Vietnamese: sự tiếp xúc (vi)

colloquial: a contact lens — see also contact lens

• American Sign Language: Open8@Cheek-PalmBack Open8@Cheek-PalmBack
• Bulgarian: конта́ктна ле́ща f (kontáktna léšta)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 隱形眼鏡／隐形眼镜 (zh) (yǐnxíngyǎnjìng)

• Czech: čočka (cs) f
• Finnish: piilolinssi (fi)
• French: lentille (fr) f
• German: Kontaktlinse (de) f
• Hungarian: kontaktlencse (hu)
• Japanese: コンタクト (ja) (kontakuto)
• Korean: 렌즈 (ko) (renjeu)
• Luxembourgish: Kontaktlëns f
• Polish: szkło kontaktowe (pl) n
• Portuguese: lente de contato (pt) f (Brazil), lente de contacto f (Portugal)
• Russian: конта́ктная ли́нза (ru) f (kontáktnaja línza), ли́нза (ru) f (línza)
• Volapük: kontagalentül

electrical: a device designed for repetitive connections

• Bulgarian: контакт (bg) m (kontakt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 觸點／触点 (chùdiǎn)

• Czech: kontakt (cs) m inan
• Finnish: liitin (fi)
• French: contact (fr) m
• Japanese: 接点 (ja) (setten), 端子 (ja) (tanshi)
• Persian: تماس (fa) (tamâs)
• Polish: kontakt (pl) m
• Portuguese: contato (pt) m (Brazil)
• Romanian: contact (ro) n
• Russian: конта́кт (ru) m (kontákt)

someone with whom one is in communication

• American Sign Language: Open8@Finger-TipUp-Open8@CenterChesthigh-TipUp Contact
• Armenian: կապորդ (hy) (kapord)
• Azerbaijani: əlaqə (az)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聯繫／联系 (zh) (liánxì)

• Czech: kontakt (cs) m inan
• Dutch: contact (nl) n
• Finnish: kontakti (fi), yhteyshenkilö
• French: contact (fr) m, connaissance (fr) f
• Greek: σύνδεσμος (el) m (sýndesmos), επαφή (el) f (epafí)
• Hebrew: איש קשר m
• Hungarian: kapcsolattartó (hu)
• Icelandic: tengiliður m
• Italian: contatto (it) m
• Japanese: 連絡先 (ja) (renraku-saki), お問い合わせ (o toiawase)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: پەیوەند (peywend)

• Ladino: alishik m, kontakto m
• Maori: hoapā
• Persian: مخاطب (fa) (moxâtab)
• Polish: kontakt (pl) m
• Portuguese: contato (pt) m (Brazil), contacto (pt) m (Portugal)
• Russian: конта́кт (ru) m (kontákt), связно́й (ru) m (svjaznój)
• Welsh: cyswllt m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} ко̀нтакт m, ^{(please verify)} kòntakt (sh) m
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} contacto (es) m

Verb

contact (third-person singular simple present contacts, present participle contacting, simple past and past participle contacted)

1. (transitive, occasionally proscribed) To touch; to come into physical contact with.

   The side of the car contacted the pedestrian.

2. (transitive, occasionally proscribed) To establish communication with (something or someone).

   I am trying to contact my sister.

Usage notes

• The use of contact as a verb is occasionally discountenanced. Nonetheless, its usefulness and popularity have – at least to some extent – worn down resistance.

Derived terms

• contactee
• contactor
• noncontacted
• noncontacting
• recontact
• supercontacting
• uncontacted

 

Translations

touch physically

• Bulgarian: докосвам (bg) (dokosvam), допирам се (dopiram se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 接觸／接触 (zh) (jiēchù)

• Czech: dotýkat se impf, dotknout se pf
• Dutch: aanraken (nl)
• Finnish: koskea (fi), osua (fi)
• French: toucher (fr)
• German: berühren (de)
• Ido: kontaktar (io)
• Japanese: 接触する (ja) (sesshoku suru), 続する (ja) (setsuzoku suru)
• Lithuanian: liestis impf
• Luxembourgish: beréieren
• Maori: whakapāpā, pā, ū
• Persian: لمس کردن (fa) (lams kardan)
• Portuguese: tocar (pt), tanger (pt)
• Telugu: అంటుకొను (te) (aṇṭukonu), ముట్టుకొను (te) (muṭṭukonu), తాకు (te) (tāku)

establish communication with

• Arabic: اِتَّصَلَ (ittaṣala)
• Bulgarian: свързвам се (svǎrzvam se)
• Catalan: contactar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聯繫／联系 (zh) (liánxì)

• Czech: kontaktovat
• Danish: kontakte
• Dutch: contacteren (nl)
• Esperanto: kontakti
• Finnish: ottaa yhteyttä (fi), ottaa yhteys
• French: contacter (fr)
• Georgian: უკავშირდება (uḳavširdeba), ეკონტაქტება (eḳonṭakṭeba)
• German: kontaktieren (de)
• Hebrew: יצר קשר (yatsár késher)
• Icelandic: hafa samband við
• Italian: contattare (it)
• Japanese: 連絡する (ja) (renraku suru)
• Korean: 연락하다 (ko) (yeollak-hada), 련락하다 (ryeollak-hada) (North Korea)
• Luxembourgish: kontaktéieren
• Maori: whakapā
• Norwegian: kontakte (no)
• Pashto: تماس نیول
• Persian: تماس گرفتن (tamâs gereftan)
• Polish: kontaktować się (pl) impf, skontaktować się (pl) pf
• Portuguese: contactar (pt) (Portugal), contatar (pt) (Brazil)
• Romanian: a contacta
• Russian: контакти́ровать (ru) impf or pf (kontaktírovatʹ), свя́зываться (ru) impf (svjázyvatʹsja), связа́ться (ru) pf (svjazátʹsja)
• Spanish: contactar (es), entrar en contacto con
• Swedish: kontakta (sv), höra av sig (sv)
• Telugu: సంపర్కించు (samparkiñcu)
• Vietnamese: liên lạc (vi)

Chinese

Etymology

From English contact.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): kon¹ tek⁴

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: kon¹ tek⁴
    • Yale: kōn tèhk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: kon¹ tek⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: kon¹ tég⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰɔːn⁵⁵ tʰɛːk̚²¹/

Noun

contact

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) contact details

Verb

contact

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to contact; to establish communication with

Dutch

Alternative forms

• kontakt (superseded)

Etymology

Borrowed from French contact, from Latin contactus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔnˈtɑkt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: con‧tact
• Rhymes: -ɑkt

Noun

contact n (plural contacten, diminutive contactje n)

1. physical contact, touching
2. contact (close association)
3. contact (communication, exchange)
4. contact (someone with whom communication has been established)

Derived terms

• briefcontact
• contactadres
• contactberoep
• contactdoos
• contactkoor
• contactlens
• contactloos
• contactnummer
• contactpersoon
• contactsport
• contactstoornis
• contacttaal
• contactverbod
• e-mailcontact
• huidcontact
• knuffelcontact
• mailcontact
• stopcontact

 

Related terms

• contacteren

Descendants

• Afrikaans: kontak
• → Caribbean Javanese: kontag
• → Indonesian: kontak
• → Javanese: ꦏꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦠꦏ꧀ (kontak)
• → West Frisian: kontakt

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin contactus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.takt/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

contact m (plural contacts)

1. (physical) contact; contact (with another person)
2. contact (person that one knows)
3. rapport

   Vous avez un bon contact avec les enfants. ― You have a good rapport with children.

Derived terms

• clé de contact
• contact visuel
• lentille de contact
• prendre contact

Further reading

• “contact”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French contact.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

contact n (plural contacte)

1. contact

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	contact	contactul		contacte	contactele
genitive-dative	contact	contactului		contacte	contactelor
vocative	contactule			contactelor