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.

Titian's coloring and contours. --A. Drummond.

2. (Mil.) The outline of a horizontal section of the ground, or of works of fortification.

Contour feathers (Zo["o]l.), 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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)