[trace] n [ME, fr. MF, fr. tracier to trace] (14c) 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 usu. 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 ~ of a smile" b: an amount of a chemical constituent not always quantitatively determinable because of minuteness -- trace.less adj syn 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".
[2]trace vb traced ; trac.ing [ME, fr. MF tracier, fr. (assumed) VL tractiare to drag, fr. L tractus, pp. of trahere to pull] vt (14c) 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 "~ 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 "~ the history of the labor movement" c: to discover by going backward over the evidence step by step "~ your ancestry" d: to discover signs, evidence, or remains of
4: to lay out the trace of (a military installation) ~ vi 1: to make one's way; esp: to follow a track or trail
2: to be traceable historically -- trace.abil.i.ty n -- trace.able adj [3]trace n [ME trais, pl., traces, fr. MF, pl. of trait pull, draft, trace--more at trait] (14c) 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
4: a connecting bar or rod pivoted at each end to another piece and used for transmitting motion