I. ˈtrās 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 -ləs 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 ; trac·ing )
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
• trace·abil·i·ty ˌtrā-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē noun
• trace·able ˈtrā-sə-bəl 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