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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Touchwood

Touchwood \Touch"wood`\, n. [Probably for tachwood; OE. tache tinder (of uncertain origin) + wood.]

  1. Wood so decayed as to serve for tinder; spunk, or punk.

  2. Dried fungi used as tinder; especially, the Polyporus igniarius.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
touchwood

1570s, from touch (v.) + wood, probably from the notion of being set alight at the touch of a spark.

Wiktionary
touchwood

n. Decayed wood used as tinder; punk.

WordNet
touchwood

n. material for starting a fire [syn: kindling, tinder, spunk, punk]

Wikipedia
Touchwood (electoral district)

Touchwood is a former provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Located south of the Wynyard district in east-central Saskatchewan, it was centered on the Touchwood Hills.

This constituency was created for the 2nd Saskatchewan general election in 1908. It was dissolved and combined with the Last Mountain riding (as Last Mountain-Touchwood) before the 18th Saskatchewan general election in 1975.

Touchwood

Touchwood is decayed wood used for tinder. The phrase "touch wood" is another way of describing knocking on wood. The terms may also refer to

Usage examples of "touchwood".

Wi took from his bag his fire sticks and, setting one between his feet and on it a pinch of dry touchwood powder from his pouch, twirled the sharp-pointed hardwood rod between the palms of his hands more quickly, perhaps, than ever he did before.

Bones and green touchwood hung from her belt, and an old leather pouch from which she took a little vial, her hands jerking and fumbling with the stopper.

Bensington became aware of him, looking now very gaunt and horrible in the pale beginnings of the daylight, hurrying past with his lower jaw projected and a flaring torch of touchwood in his hand.

She blushed, and the Sire de Montsoreau looked at her eagerly, as though to shoot into her the mystic comprehensions of love, but the clearing out of her intelligence had already been commenced by the sayings of the peasants which were fructifying in her understanding --her innocence was like touchwood, there was only need for a word to inflame it.

First she gathered wreckwood and straw, and struck flint over touchwood and teened a fire.

The country was indeed lovely, and in the Touchwood Hills there were wild strawberries.

His loud knocking at the heavy door called forth dull resonance from the interior, and produced a shower of lumps of plaster and fragments of decaying touchwood from the rickety porch, but beyond this the dreamy stillness of the summer mid-day remained unbroken.