See touch wood in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for touch wood meaning in English (6.0kB)
{
"etymology_text": "From a folk practice of unclear origin.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "touches wood",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "touching wood",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "touched wood",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "touched wood",
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"past"
]
}
],
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"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Australian English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "British English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Indian English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Malaysian English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Singapore English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "South African English",
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},
{
"_dis": "41 59",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
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"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "52 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English imperative sentences",
"parents": [
"Imperative sentences",
"Sentences"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1930, John D. Stephenson, chapter I, in The Structure of English from Sentence to Essay, page 105",
"text": "Touching wood possibly has reference to (a) the cross, or (b) the altar rails in days when criminals could take sanctuary in churches.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2003, Chester Schneider, The Making of a Christian Psychiatrist, US: Xulon Press, page 193",
"text": "Very few patients for whom I provided psychiatric treatment ended their lives by suicide, but I became increasingly convinced that my residency instructor who touched wood because none of his patients had killed themselves had not been treating many seriously mentally ill patients for any extended period of time.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2010, Rhena Branch, Rob Willson, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies, 2nd edition, UK: John Wiley & Sons, page 102",
"text": "Examples of rituals include touching wood, repeating phrases in your mind, wearing lucky clothes or jewellery, and avoiding unlucky numbers, out of a faulty belief that these rituals will stop unfortunate or tragic events befalling yourself or your loved ones.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To make contact with wood to avert bad luck, in accordance with a folk practice."
],
"id": "en-touch_wood-en-verb-om-9yOTs",
"links": [
[
"contact",
"contact"
],
[
"avert",
"avert"
],
[
"bad luck",
"bad luck"
],
[
"folk",
"folk"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, India) To make contact with wood to avert bad luck, in accordance with a folk practice."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"tags": [
"US"
],
"word": "knock on wood"
}
],
"tags": [
"Australia",
"India",
"Malaysia",
"New-Zealand",
"Singapore",
"South-Africa",
"UK"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-touch wood.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/da/En-au-touch_wood.ogg/En-au-touch_wood.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/En-au-touch_wood.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"knocking on wood"
],
"word": "touch wood"
}
{
"etymology_text": "From a folk practice of unclear origin.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
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"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "intj",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Australian English",
"parents": [],
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "52 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English imperative sentences",
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"Sentences"
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"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "And the reds are going to avoid relegation this year, touch wood.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1988, Janette Turner Hospital, chapter I, in Charades, page 314",
"text": "If it′s ever me (Jesus Christ, touch wood!), I don′t want you bringing me flowers.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2008 March, Anna Friel with Deanna Kizis (interviewer), “A Conversation with: Anna Friel”, in Women′s Health, page 88",
"text": "The English press has been very good to me, touch wood.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2009, Lee Hobin, chapter I, in The Male Survival Guide to Pregnancy, page 59",
"text": "I know I have my faults and one of them is my impatience and I also cannot tolerate people who are ill, mainly because I am so very rarely ill—“Touch wood,” I said out loud and touched my head at the same time.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Hopefully; said while touching something wooden, to avert superstitious bad luck from what has just been said."
],
"id": "en-touch_wood-en-intj-gjBjW4JN",
"links": [
[
"Hopefully",
"hopefully#English"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, India) Hopefully; said while touching something wooden, to avert superstitious bad luck from what has just been said."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "apotropaism"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"tags": [
"US"
],
"word": "knock on wood"
}
],
"tags": [
"Australia",
"India",
"New-Zealand",
"South-Africa",
"UK",
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
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"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/da/En-au-touch_wood.ogg/En-au-touch_wood.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/En-au-touch_wood.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"knocking on wood"
],
"word": "touch wood"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English imperative sentences",
"English interjections",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English terms with audio links",
"English verbs"
],
"etymology_text": "From a folk practice of unclear origin.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "touches wood",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "touching wood",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "touched wood",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "touched wood",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
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}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"Australian English",
"British English",
"English terms with quotations",
"Indian English",
"Malaysian English",
"New Zealand English",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned",
"Singapore English",
"South African English"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1930, John D. Stephenson, chapter I, in The Structure of English from Sentence to Essay, page 105",
"text": "Touching wood possibly has reference to (a) the cross, or (b) the altar rails in days when criminals could take sanctuary in churches.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2003, Chester Schneider, The Making of a Christian Psychiatrist, US: Xulon Press, page 193",
"text": "Very few patients for whom I provided psychiatric treatment ended their lives by suicide, but I became increasingly convinced that my residency instructor who touched wood because none of his patients had killed themselves had not been treating many seriously mentally ill patients for any extended period of time.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2010, Rhena Branch, Rob Willson, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies, 2nd edition, UK: John Wiley & Sons, page 102",
"text": "Examples of rituals include touching wood, repeating phrases in your mind, wearing lucky clothes or jewellery, and avoiding unlucky numbers, out of a faulty belief that these rituals will stop unfortunate or tragic events befalling yourself or your loved ones.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To make contact with wood to avert bad luck, in accordance with a folk practice."
],
"links": [
[
"contact",
"contact"
],
[
"avert",
"avert"
],
[
"bad luck",
"bad luck"
],
[
"folk",
"folk"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, India) To make contact with wood to avert bad luck, in accordance with a folk practice."
],
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{
"tags": [
"US"
],
"word": "knock on wood"
}
],
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"New-Zealand",
"Singapore",
"South-Africa",
"UK"
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"tags": [
"Australia"
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],
"wikipedia": [
"knocking on wood"
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"word": "touch wood"
}
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"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English imperative sentences",
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"etymology_text": "From a folk practice of unclear origin.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "touch wood",
"name": "en-interj"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "intj",
"related": [
{
"word": "apotropaism"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"Australian English",
"British English",
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples",
"Indian English",
"New Zealand English",
"South African English"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "And the reds are going to avoid relegation this year, touch wood.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1988, Janette Turner Hospital, chapter I, in Charades, page 314",
"text": "If it′s ever me (Jesus Christ, touch wood!), I don′t want you bringing me flowers.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2008 March, Anna Friel with Deanna Kizis (interviewer), “A Conversation with: Anna Friel”, in Women′s Health, page 88",
"text": "The English press has been very good to me, touch wood.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2009, Lee Hobin, chapter I, in The Male Survival Guide to Pregnancy, page 59",
"text": "I know I have my faults and one of them is my impatience and I also cannot tolerate people who are ill, mainly because I am so very rarely ill—“Touch wood,” I said out loud and touched my head at the same time.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Hopefully; said while touching something wooden, to avert superstitious bad luck from what has just been said."
],
"links": [
[
"Hopefully",
"hopefully#English"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, India) Hopefully; said while touching something wooden, to avert superstitious bad luck from what has just been said."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"tags": [
"US"
],
"word": "knock on wood"
}
],
"tags": [
"Australia",
"India",
"New-Zealand",
"South-Africa",
"UK",
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
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"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/En-au-touch_wood.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"knocking on wood"
],
"word": "touch wood"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-30 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (210104c and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.