'Contour feathers' definitions:
Definition of 'Contour feathers'
From: GCIDE
- 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]