Adjacent Words

Trace definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TRACE, n. [L. tractus, tracto. See Track, and the verb Trace.]
1. A mark left by any thing passing; a footstep; a track; a vestige; as the trace of a carriage or sled; the trade of a man or of a deer.
2. Remains; a mark, impression or visible appearance of any thing left when the thing itself no longer exists. We are told that there are no traces of ancient Babylon now to be seen.
The shady empire shall retain no trace
Of war or blood, but in the sylvan chase.
TRACE, n. Traces, in a harness, are the straps, chains or ropes by which a carriage or sleigh is drawn by horses. [Locally these are called tugs.]
TRACE, v.t. [L. tracto, from traho; Eng. to draw, to drag.]
1. To mark out; to draw or delineate with marks; as, to race a figure with a pencil; to trace the outline of any thing.
2. To follow by some mark that has been left by something which has preceded; to follow by footsteps or tracks.
You may trace the deluge quite round the globe.
I feel thy power to trace the ways
Of highest agents.
3. To follow with exactness.
That servile path thou nobly do'st decline,
Of tracing word by word, and line by line.
4. To walk over.
We do trace this alley up and down.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a just detectable amount; "he speaks French with a trace of an accent" [syn: trace, hint, suggestion]
2: an indication that something has been present; "there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim"; "a tincture of condescension" [syn: trace, vestige, tincture, shadow]
3: a suggestion of some quality; "there was a touch of sarcasm in his tone"; "he detected a ghost of a smile on her face" [syn: touch, trace, ghost]
4: a drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of the original image [syn: tracing, trace]
5: either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree
6: a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle v
1: follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something; "We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba" ; "trace the student's progress" [syn: trace, follow]
2: make a mark or lines on a surface; "draw a line"; "trace the outline of a figure in the sand" [syn: trace, draw, line, describe, delineate]
3: to go back over again; "we retraced the route we took last summer"; "trace your path" [syn: trace, retrace]
4: pursue or chase relentlessly; "The hunters traced the deer into the woods"; "the detectives hounded the suspect until they found him" [syn: hound, hunt, trace]
5: discover traces of; "She traced the circumstances of her birth"
6: make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along; "The children traced along the edge of the dark forest"; "The women traced the pasture"
7: copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of; "trace a design"; "trace a pattern"
8: read with difficulty; "Can you decipher this letter?"; "The archeologist traced the hieroglyphs" [syn: decipher, trace]

Merriam Webster's

I. 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 • traceless 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; tracing) 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 • traceability noun • traceable 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

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v.tr. 1 a observe, discover, or find vestiges or signs of by investigation. b (often foll. by along, through, to, etc.) follow or mark the track or position of (traced their footprints in the mud; traced the outlines of a wall). c (often foll. by back) follow to its origins (can trace my family to the 12th century; the report has been traced back to you). 2 (often foll. by over) copy (a drawing etc.) by drawing over its lines on a superimposed piece of translucent paper, or by using carbon paper. 3 (often foll. by out) mark out, delineate, sketch, or write esp. laboriously (traced out a plan of the district; traced out his vision of the future). 4 pursue one's way along (a path etc.). --n. 1 a a sign or mark or other indication of something having existed; a vestige (no trace remains of the castle; has the traces of a vanished beauty). b a very small quantity. c an amount of rainfall etc. too small to be measured. 2 a track or footprint left by a person or animal. 3 a track left by the moving pen of an instrument etc. 4 a line on the screen of a cathode-ray tube showing the path of a moving spot. 5 a curve's projection on or intersection with a plane etc. 6 a change in the brain caused by learning processes. Phrases and idioms: trace element 1 a chemical element occurring in minute amounts. 2 a chemical element required only in minute amounts by living organisms for normal growth. trace fossil a fossil that represents a burrow, footprint, etc., of an organism. Derivatives: traceable adj. traceability n. traceless adj. Etymology: ME f. OF trace (n.), tracier (v.) f. L tractus drawing: see TRACT(1) 2. n. each of the two side-straps, chains, or ropes by which a horse draws a vehicle. Phrases and idioms: kick over the traces become insubordinate or reckless. trace-horse a horse that draws in traces or by a single trace, esp. one hitched on to help uphill etc. Etymology: ME f. OF trais, pl. of TRAIT

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trace Trace, n. (Mech.) A connecting bar or rod, pivoted at each end to the end of another piece, for transmitting motion, esp. from one plane to another; specif., such a piece in an organ-stop action to transmit motion from the trundle to the lever actuating the stop slider.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Primitive Prim"i*tive, a. [L. primitivus, fr. primus the first: cf. F. primitif. See Prime, a.] 1. Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church. ``Our primitive great sire.'' --Milton. 2. Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress. 3. Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar. Primitive axes of co["o]rdinate (Geom.), that system of axes to which the points of a magnitude are first referred, with reference to a second set or system, to which they are afterward referred. Primitive chord (Mus.), that chord, the lowest note of which is of the same literal denomination as the fundamental base of the harmony; -- opposed to derivative. --Moore (Encyc. of Music). Primitive circle (Spherical Projection), the circle cut from the sphere to be projected, by the primitive plane. Primitive colors (Paint.), primary colors. See under Color. Primitive Fathers (Eccl.), the acknowledged Christian writers who flourished before the Council of Nice, A. D. 325. --Shipley. Primitive groove (Anat.), a depression or groove in the epiblast of the primitive streak. It is not connected with the medullary groove, which appears later and in front of it. Primitive plane (Spherical Projection), the plane upon which the projections are made, generally coinciding with some principal circle of the sphere, as the equator or a meridian. Primitive rocks (Geol.), primary rocks. See under Primary. Primitive sheath. (Anat.) See Neurilemma. Primitive streak or trace (Anat.), an opaque and thickened band where the mesoblast first appears in the vertebrate blastoderm. Syn: First; original; radical; pristine; ancient; primeval; antiquated; old-fashioned.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trace Trace, n. [F. trace. See Trace, v. t. ] 1. A mark left by anything passing; a track; a path; a course; a footprint; a vestige; as, the trace of a carriage or sled; the trace of a deer; a sinuous trace. --Milton. 2. (Chem. & Min.) A very small quantity of an element or compound in a given substance, especially when so small that the amount is not quantitatively determined in an analysis; -- hence, in stating an analysis, often contracted to tr. 3. A mark, impression, or visible appearance of anything left when the thing itself no longer exists; remains; token; vestige. The shady empire shall retain no trace Of war or blood, but in the sylvan chase. --Pope. 4. (Descriptive Geom. & Persp.) The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane. 5. (Fort.) The ground plan of a work or works. Syn.-Vestige; mark; token. See Vestige.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trace Trace, v. t. [imp. & p. p. traced; p. pr. & vb. n. tracing.] [OF. tracier, F. tracer, from (assumed) LL. tractiare, fr.L. tractus, p. p. of trahere to draw. Cf. Abstract, Attract, Contract, Portratt, Tract, Trail, Train, Treat. ] 1. To mark out; to draw or delineate with marks; especially, to copy, as a drawing or engraving, by following the lines and marking them on a sheet superimposed, through which they appear; as, to trace a figure or an outline; a traced drawing. Some faintly traced features or outline of the mother and the child, slowly lading into the twilight of the woods. --Hawthorne. 2. To follow by some mark that has been left by a person or thing which has preceded; to follow by footsteps, tracks, or tokens. --Cowper. You may trace the deluge quite round the globe. --T. Burnet. I feel thy power . . . to trace the ways Of highest agents. --Milton. 3. Hence, to follow the trace or track of. How all the way the prince on footpace traced. --Spenser. 4. To copy; to imitate. That servile path thou nobly dost decline, Of tracing word, and line by line. --Denham. 5. To walk over; to pass through; to traverse. We do tracethis alley up and down. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trace Trace, n. [F. trais. pl. of trait. See Trait.] One of two straps, chains, or ropes of a harness, extending from the collar or breastplate to a whiffletree attached to a vehicle or thing to be drawn; a tug.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Trace Trace, v. i. To walk; to go; to travel. [Obs.] Not wont on foot with heavy arms to trace. --Spenser.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(traces, tracing, traced) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you trace the origin or development of something, you find out or describe how it started or developed. The exhibition traces the history of graphic design in America from the 19th century to the present... The psychiatrist successfully traced some of her problems to severe childhood traumas. VERB: V n, V n to n • Trace back means the same as trace. Britain's Parliament can trace its history back to the English Parliament of the 13th century... She has never traced back her lineage, but believes her grandparents were from Aberdeenshire. PHRASAL VERB: V n P to n, V P n (not pron) 2. If you trace someone or something, you find them after looking for them. Police are anxious to trace two men seen leaving the house just before 8am... VERB: V n 3. If you trace something such as a pattern or a shape, for example with your finger or toe, you mark its outline on a surface. I traced the course of the river on the map. VERB: V n 4. If you trace a picture, you copy it by covering it with a piece of transparent paper and drawing over the lines underneath. She learned to draw by tracing pictures out of old storybooks. VERB: V n 5. A trace of something is a very small amount of it. Wash them in cold water to remove all traces of sand... N-COUNT: usu N of n 6. A trace is a sign which shows you that someone or something has been in a place. There's been no trace of my aunt and uncle... Finally, and mysteriously, Hoffa disappeared without trace. N-COUNT: usu N of n, also without N 7. If you say that someone or something sinks without trace or sinks without a trace, you mean that they stop existing or stop being successful very suddenly and completely. The Social Democratic Party has sunk without trace at these elections... PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Footprint, footmark, footstep, track, trail, wake, vestige. 2. Mark, sign, token, vestige, record, memorial, remains. II. v. a. 1. Follow (by a track or mark), track, trail. 2. Delineate, draw, sketch, mark out, trace out. 3. Traverse, go over, walk over.

Moby Thesaurus

CRT spot, DM display, Doppler signal, IF signal, IM display, Photostat, RF echoes, Xerox, account, afterglow, afterimage, annals, aroma, ascertain, balance, beam, beat signal, bit, blaze, blaze a trail, blemish, blips, block in, block out, blotch, bounces, brand, breath, brief, butt, butt end, candle ends, cartoon, cast, catalog, catch a likeness, catchword, chaff, chalk, chalk out, chalk up, character, characterize, charcoal, chart, check, check off, chronicle, cicatrize, clone, clue, color, companion, condensation trail, contrail, copy, copy out, correspondence, course, crayon, crosshatch, cue, cue word, dapple, dash, dash off, daub, dead ringer, debris, define, definite odor, delimit, delineate, demarcate, depict, design, detect, detectable odor, determine, detritus, diagram, discolor, discover, display, ditto, documentation, dog, doodle, dot, double, double-dot display, draft, draw, draw up, drop, dupe, duplicate, echo, echo signal, edit, effigy, effluvium, emanation, end, enface, engrave, engross, essence, evidence, exact likeness, exhalation, facsimile, fag end, fellow, filings, find, find out, flavor, fleck, follow, follow a clue, follow up, footprints, fossil, fragrance, freckle, fume, gash, get, gleam, hatch, hectograph, hint, history, hit, hit off, holdover, hot lead, hunt down, hunt up, husks, icon, idea, idol, image, impress, imprint, indication, infusion, inkling, inscribe, intimation, invent, inventory, investigate, iota, jot, key, key word, lead, leavings, leftovers, letters, lick, likeness, limn, line, list, living image, living picture, local oscillator signal, locate, look, make a mark, make a recension, make out, manifold, map, mark, mark off, mark out, match, mate, memento, memorial, microcopy, microfilm, mimeo, mimeograph, miniature, mirroring, model, mottle, multigraph, nick, nose, nose out, notate, notch, odds and ends, odor, offscourings, orts, outline, output signal, paint, paint a picture, parings, path, pen, pencil, pepper, photograph, picture, picturize, pipe roll, pips, piste, point, portrait, portray, prick, print, prints, proof, punch, punctuate, puncture, pursue, push the pen, put in writing, quadruplicate, radar signal, rags, reading, recense, record, recording, rediscover, redolence, reduplicate, reflection, refuse, register, registry, relic, relics, remainder, remains, remnant, render, replicate, represent, reproduce, resemblance, residue, residuum, rest, return, return signal, revise, rewrite, riddle, roach, roll, rolls, roster, rota, rough in, rough out, rub, rubbing, rubbish, ruins, rump, run down, run to earth, sauce, savor, sawdust, scar, scarify, scent, schematize, scintilla, score, scotch, scourings, scraps, scratch, scrive, scroll, scumble, seal, seam, search for, seasoning, seek, semblance, shade, shadow, shavings, sign, signal, signal display, signs, similitude, simulacrum, sip, sketch, smack, smattering, smell, smell out, sniff out, soupcon, spark, speck, speckle, spice, spill ink, spit and image, spitting image, splotch, spoil paper, spoor, spot, sprinkling, stain, stalk, stamp, stat, stench, stencil, stigmatize, strain, straw, streak, striate, strike, stripe, stubble, stump, subtle odor, suggestion, sup, superscribe, survival, suspicion, sweepings, symbolize, table, tail, taint, take a rubbing, target image, taste, tattoo, telltale, tempering, thought, tick, tick off, tinct, tincture, tinge, tint, tip-off, token, touch, trace down, trace out, trace over, traces, tracing, track, track down, tracks, trail, transcribe, transmitter signal, tread, trifle, triplicate, twin, type, underline, underscore, unearth, vapor trail, very image, very picture, vestige, video signal, wake, waste, whiff, write, write down, write out