touch
Preserved but no longer current.
A slang expression in common use in phrases which express the extent to which a person is interested or affected, "as a fourpenny TOUCH," i.e., a thing costing fourpence. See an example in Mr., afterwards Sir Erasmus, Philipps’s Diary, at Oxford, in 1720. "Sept. 22.—At night went to the ball at the Angel, a guinea TOUCH." It is also used at Eton in the sense of a "tip," or present of money; and is sometimes said of a woman to imply her worthlessness, as, "Only a half-crown TOUCH."
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “touch” mean?
A slang expression in common use in phrases which express the extent to which a person is interested or affected, "as a fourpenny TOUCH," i.e., a thing costing fourpence. See an example in Mr., afterwards Sir Erasmus, Philipps’s Diary, at Oxford, in 1720. "Sept. 22.—At night went to the ball at the Angel, a guinea TOUCH." It is also used at Eton in the sense of a "tip," or present of money; and is sometimes said of a woman to imply her worthlessness, as, "Only a half-crown TOUCH."
Is “touch” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.