TRACT


Meaning of TRACT in English

/ trækt; NAmE / noun

1.

( biology ) a system of connected organs or tissues along which materials or messages pass :

the digestive tract

a nerve tract

2.

an area of land, especially a large one

SYN stretch :

vast tracts of forest

3.

(sometimes disapproving ) a short piece of writing, especially on a religious, moral or political subject, that is intended to influence people's ideas

••

WORD ORIGIN

senses 1 to 2 late Middle English (in the sense duration or course of time ): from Latin tractus drawing, draught, from trahere draw, pull.

sense 3 late Middle English (denoting a written work treating a particular topic), apparently an abbreviation of Latin tractatus , from tractare to handle, frequentative of trahere draw. The current sense dates from the early 19th cent.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.