Tactual

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or involving the sense of touch; pertaining to physical contact or sensation through the skin; associated with tactile perception or feeling
2. Connected with the perception of objects or surfaces by means of touching; describing sensitivity to texture, pressure, or temperature; involving manual exploration or handling
3. Concerned with sensory experience derived from contact with external stimuli on the skin; relating to the capacity to detect shape, hardness, or vibration through touch; characteristic of tactile responsiveness

Etymology: Touch is the common thread here. "Tactual" comes from Latin "tactus," the past participle of "tangere," "to touch." That same verb lies behind "tangent," a line that touches a curve at a single point, and "contact," from the related "contingere." Latin "tactus" gave English "tact" too, the sense of a light touch that handles delicate matters without causing offence. English speakers built "tactual" by adding the adjective ending "-al" to that Latin stem. Its close relative "tactile" took a different route: it was formed directly from the Latin adjective "tactilis," "that can be touched." The two words therefore mean nearly the same thing, but one was shaped by Latin grammar and the other by English word-building. "Tactual" is the rarer of the pair and is mostly used in psychology and physiology when discussing touch perception.

Synonyms: tactile, touch-related

Antonyms: visual, auditory