trace

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from tracer to trace Date: 14th century 1. archaic a course or path that one follows 2. a. a mark or line left by something that has passed; also footprint b. a path, trail, or road made by the passage of animals, people, or vehicles 3. a. a sign or evidence of some past thing ; vestige b. engram 4. something (as a line) traced or drawn: as a. the marking made by a recording instrument (as a seismograph or kymograph) b. the ground plan of a military installation or position either on a map or on the ground 5. a. the intersection of a line or plane with a plane b. the usually bright line or spot that moves across the screen of a cathode-ray tube; also the path taken by such a line or spot 6. a. a minute and often barely detectable amount or indication <

a trace of a smile

> b. an amount of a chemical constituent not always quantitatively determinable because of minuteness • traceless adjective Synonyms: trace, vestige, track mean a perceptible sign made by something that has passed. trace may suggest any line, mark, or discernible effect <

a snowfield pockmarked with the traces of caribou

>. vestige applies to a tangible reminder such as a fragment or remnant of what is past and gone <

boulders that are vestiges of the last ice age

>. track implies a continuous line that can be followed <

the fossilized tracks of dinosaurs

>. II. verb (traced; tracing) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French tracer, from Vulgar Latin *tractiare to drag, from Latin tractus, past participle of trahere to pull Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. delineate, sketch b. to form (as letters or figures) carefully or painstakingly c. to copy (as a drawing) by following the lines or letters as seen through a transparent superimposed sheet d. to impress or imprint (as a design or pattern) with a tracer e. to record a tracing of in the form of a curved, wavy, or broken line <

trace the heart action

> f. to adorn with linear ornamentation (as tracery or chasing) 2. archaic to travel over ; traverse 3. a. to follow the footprints, track, or trail of b. to follow or study out in detail or step by step <

trace the history of the labor movement

> c. to discover by going backward over the evidence step by step <

trace your ancestry

> d. to discover signs, evidence, or remains of 4. to lay out the trace of (a military installation) intransitive verb 1. to make one's way; especially to follow a track or trail 2. to be traceable historically • traceability noun • traceable adjective III. noun Etymology: Middle English trais, from Anglo-French tres, plural of trait pull, draft, trace — more at trait Date: 14th century 1. either of two straps, chains, or lines of a harness for attaching a draft animal to something (as a vehicle) to be drawn 2. leader 1e(2) 3. one or more vascular bundles supplying a leaf or twig