Tangible is related to tactile, and so are intact, tact, contingent, tangent, and even entire. There's also the uncommon noun taction, meaning "the act of touching." Like tactile, all of these words can be traced back to the Latin verb tangere, meaning "to touch." Tactile was adopted by English speakers in the early 17th century (possibly by way of the French tactile) from the Latin adjective tactilis ("tangible"). Tactilis comes from tactus, a past participle of tangere.
Example Sentences
He not only had visual difficulties but tactile ones, too—witness his grasping his wife's head and mistaking it for a hat … Oliver Sacks, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2002There is a tactile and therefore somatic dimension to stroking the chalk that keeps the artist in constant, responsible and responsive touch with his emerging creation. Jed Perl, New Republic, 17 June 2002The keyboard has good tactile feedback, and the touch pad is responsive without being too twitchy. Bruce Brown, PC Magazine, 20 Feb. 2001… nothing prepared me for the tactile reality of the original volumes, leaf after carefully written leaf over which his hand had travelled … Edmund Morris, New Yorker, 16 Jan. 1995Near midday the heat of the sun bounced up from the bare patches of soil to hit with an almost tactile force. Edward O. Wilson, Smithsonian, October 1984 The thick brushstrokes give the painting a tactile quality. See More
Recent Examples on the WebBut in Israel, Biden – a tactile politician known for hugs and warm embraces – shook hands with former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several others. Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 15 July 2022 Professor Hatice Gunes argues that children are tactile and they’re drawn to technology. Sophie Mellor, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2022 Even Apple moved back towards a keyboard with better travel and a more tactile feel after the failure of the Butterfly Keyboard. Christian De Looper, BGR, 26 July 2022 All of the brushes are extremely tactile and allow users with a variety of struggles to get a new feel for more independent makeup application. Chloe Valentine Toscano, Allure, 9 June 2022 At the University of Washington’s Center for Neurotechnology, our team is working out how best to engineer stimulation to the brain to restore tactile sensations that allow people to perform useful tasks. David Caldwell, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2022 Meta, Facebook's new parent company, has revealed new research about an A.I.-powered system that helps robots recognize and react to tactile sensations. Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2021 Jack Purcher notes: Apple's patent covers a haptic structure for providing localized haptic output and tactile sensations for an electronic device…. Ewan Spence, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2021 The switch has 4 mm of travel, actuates at 2 mm, and goes through its tactile bump with 60 grams of force. Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 26 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
French or Latin; French, from Latin tactilis, from tangere to touch — more at tangent entry 2