trace1
- 1) noun, a mark or other sign that something has been in a place; vestige
- 2) noun, a tiny or scarcely detectable amount or characteristic
- 3) noun, a footprint or other indication of the passage of an animal or person
- 4) noun, any line drawn by a recording instrument or a record consisting of a number of such lines
- 5) noun, something drawn, such as a tracing
- 6) noun, a beaten track or path
- 7) noun, the postulated alteration in the cells of the nervous system that occurs as the result of any experience or learning
- 8) noun, geometry the intersection of a surface with a coordinate plane
- 9) noun, maths the sum of the diagonal entries of a square matrix
- 10) noun, linguistics a symbol inserted in the constituent structure of a sentence to mark the position from which a constituent has been moved in a generative process
- 11) noun, meteorol an amount of precipitation that is too small to be measured
- 12) noun, a way taken; route
- 13) verb, to follow, discover, or ascertain the course or development of (something)
- 14) verb, to track down and find, as by following a trail
- 15) verb, to copy (a design, map, etc) by drawing over the lines visible through a superimposed sheet of transparent paper or other material
- 16) verb, a) to draw or delineate a plan or diagram of b) to outline or sketch (an idea, policy, etc)
- 17) verb, to decorate with tracery
- 18) verb, to imprint (a design) on cloth, etc
- 19) verb, to follow or be followed to source; date back
- 20) verb, to make one's way over, through, or along (something)
Etymology
C13: from French tracier, from Vulgar Latin tractiāre (unattested) to drag, from Latin tractus, from trahere to drag
Collins English Electronic Dictionary - Digital Edition: 2008 © HarperCollins Publishers 2008
trace2
- 1) noun, either of the two side straps that connect a horse's harness to the swingletree
- 2) noun, angling a length of nylon or, formerly, gut attaching a hook or fly to a line
- 3) noun, kick over the traces to escape or defy control
Etymology
C14 trais, from Old French trait, ultimately from Latin trahere to drag
Collins English Electronic Dictionary - Digital Edition: 2008 © HarperCollins Publishers 2008
Tweetymologies
How people on twitter are using the word trace
No video for this word, yet.
We're a video dictionary, but we're new and there are many words in the English language.
We're uploading new video definitions of words daily but we need your help. Does this word have a special meaning to you? If so we'd love to see you define it through video.
Popular videos
Related words
Synonyms
suggestion, bit, drop, touch, shadow, hint, dash, suspicion, tinge, trifle, whiff, jot, tincture, iota, remnant, remains, sign, record, mark, evidence, indication, token, relic, vestige, track, trail, footstep, path, slot, footprint, spoor, follow, seek out, track, determine, pursue, unearth, ascertain, find, discover, trail, detect, unearth, locate, outline, chart, sketch, draw, map out, depict, delineate, copy, map, draft, outline, sketch, reproduce