trace
English meaning: Trace
Definition
An act of tracing.
Example
“Your cell phone company can put a trace on your line.”
Another example: “Police were able to trace the call to a phone box.”
Usage — When, Where & How
Neutral; as a verb, to follow or copy a line ('trace a route', 'trace your finger'), or to find by investigation ('trace a call', 'trace ancestry'). As a noun, a tiny amount ('a trace of poison') or a mark left behind. Versatile and common.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Old French 'tracier' (to follow, track), from Vulgar Latin 'tractiare', from Latin 'trahere' (to draw), from the 14th century.
Related Words
Common Collocations
- trace back
- without a trace
- trace amounts
- trace the origin
- trace a call
Word Forms
trace (v); traces; traced; tracing; trace (n); traceable (adj)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B