n.
Pronunciation: ' tr ā s
Function: 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
– trace · less \ -l ə s \ 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>.