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trace

 - 11 dictionary results

trace

1  [treys] noun, verb, traced, trac⋅ing.
Use trace in a Sentence
–noun
1. a surviving mark, sign, or evidence of the former existence, influence, or action of some agent or event; vestige: traces of an advanced civilization among the ruins.
2. a barely discernible indication or evidence of some quantity, quality, characteristic, expression, etc.: a trace of anger in his tone.
3. an extremely small amount of some chemical component: a trace of copper in its composition.
4. traces, the series of footprints left by an animal.
5. the track left by the passage of a person, animal, or object: the trace of her skates on the ice.
6. Meteorology. precipitation of less than 0.005 in. (0.127 mm).
7. a trail or path, esp. through wild or open territory, made by the passage of people, animals, or vehicles.
8. engram.
9. a tracing, drawing, or sketch of something.
10. a lightly drawn line, as the record drawn by a self-registering instrument.
11. Mathematics.
a. the intersection of two planes, or of a plane and a surface.
b. the sum of the elements along the principal diagonal of a square matrix.
c. the geometric locus of an equation.
12. the visible line or lines produced on the screen of a cathode-ray tube by the deflection of the electron beam.
13. Linguistics. (in generative grammar) a construct that is phonologically empty but serves to mark the place in the surface structure of a sentence from which a noun phrase has been moved by a transformational operation.
14. Obsolete. a footprint.
–verb (used with object)
15. to follow the footprints, track, or traces of.
16. to follow, make out, or determine the course or line of, esp. by going backward from the latest evidence, nearest existence, etc.: to trace one's ancestry to the Pilgrims.
17. to follow (footprints, evidence, the history or course of something, etc.).
18. to follow the course, development, or history of: to trace a political movement.
19. to ascertain by investigation; find out; discover: The police were unable to trace his whereabouts.
20. to draw (a line, outline, figure, etc.).
21. to make a plan, diagram, or map of.
22. to copy (a drawing, plan, etc.) by following the lines of the original on a superimposed transparent sheet.
23. to mark or ornament with lines, figures, etc.
24. to make an impression or imprinting of (a design, pattern, etc.).
25. (of a self-registering instrument) to print in a curved, broken, or wavy-lined manner.
26. to put down in writing.
–verb (used without object)
27. to go back in history, ancestry, or origin; date back in time: Her family traces back to Paul Revere.
28. to follow a course, trail, etc.; make one's way.
29. (of a self-registering instrument) to print a record in a curved, broken, or wavy-lined manner.
Origin:
1250–1300; late ME tracen, ME: to make one's way, proceed < MF tracier < VL *tractiāre, deriv. of L tractus, ptp. of trahere to draw, drag; (n.) ME: orig., way, course, line of footprints < OF, deriv. of tracier

Synonyms:
1. Trace, vestige agree in denoting marks or signs of something, usually of the past. Trace, the broader term, denotes any mark or slight indication of something past or present: a trace of ammonia in water. Vestige is more limited and refers to some slight, though actual, remains of something that no longer exists: vestiges of one's former wealth. 2. hint, suggestion, taste, touch. 5. spoor, trail, record. 15. trail.

Antonyms:
3. abundance, plethora.

trace

2  [treys] ,
–noun
1. either of the two straps, ropes, or chains by which a carriage, wagon, or the like is drawn by a harnessed horse or other draft animal.
2. a piece in a machine, as a bar, transferring the movement of one part to another part, being hinged to each.
—Idiom
3. kick over the traces, to throw off restraint; become independent or defiant: He kicked over the traces and ran off to join the navy.
Origin:
1300–50; ME trais < MF, pl. of trait strap for harness, action of drawing < L tractus a drawing, dragging; see tract 1

en⋅gram

  [en-gram]
–noun
a presumed encoding in neural tissue that provides a physical basis for the persistence of memory; a memory trace.
Also called trace.

Origin:
1905–10; en- 2 + -gram 1

Related forms:
en⋅gram⋅mic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To trace
trace 1   (trās)   
n.  

    1. A visible mark, such as a footprint, made or left by the passage of a person, animal, or thing.

    2. Evidence or an indication of the former presence or existence of something; a vestige.

    3. An extremely small amount.

    4. A constituent, such as a chemical compound or element, present in quantities less than a standard limit.

    5. The point at which a line, or the curve in which a surface, intersects a coordinate plane.

    6. The sum of the elements of the principal diagonal of a matrix.

  2. A barely perceivable indication; a touch: spoke with a trace of sarcasm.

    1. An extremely small amount.

    2. A constituent, such as a chemical compound or element, present in quantities less than a standard limit.

    3. The point at which a line, or the curve in which a surface, intersects a coordinate plane.

    4. The sum of the elements of the principal diagonal of a matrix.

  4. A path or trail that has been beaten out by the passage of animals or people.

  5. A way or route followed.

  6. A line drawn by a recording instrument, such as a cardiograph.

  7. Mathematics

    1. The point at which a line, or the curve in which a surface, intersects a coordinate plane.

    2. The sum of the elements of the principal diagonal of a matrix.

  8. An engram.

v.   traced, trac·ing, trac·es

v.   tr.

  1. To follow the course or trail of: trace a wounded deer; tracing missing persons.

  2. To ascertain the successive stages in the development or progress of: tracing the life cycle of an insect; trace the history of a family.

  3. To locate or discover by searching or researching evidence: trace the cause of a disease.

  4. To draw (a line or figure); sketch; delineate.

  5. To form (letters) with special concentration or care.

    1. To copy by following lines seen through a sheet of transparent paper.

    2. To follow closely (a prescribed pattern): The skater traced a figure eight.

    3. To imprint (a design) by pressure with an instrument on a superimposed pattern.

    4. To make a design or series of markings on (a surface) by such pressure on a pattern.

    1. To imprint (a design) by pressure with an instrument on a superimposed pattern.

    2. To make a design or series of markings on (a surface) by such pressure on a pattern.

  8. To record (a variable), as on a graph.

v.   intr.

  1. To make one's way along a trail or course: traced through the files.

  2. To have origins; be traceable: linguistic features that trace to West Africa.

adj.  Occurring in extremely small amounts or in quantities less than a standard limit.

[Middle English, track, from Old French, from tracier, to make one's way, from Vulgar Latin *tractiāre, from Latin tractus, a dragging, course, from past participle of trahere, to draw.]
trace'a·bil'i·ty n., trace'a·ble adj., trace'a·bly adv.
trace 2   (trās)   
n.  

  1. One of two side straps or chains connecting a harnessed draft animal to a vehicle or whiffletree.

  2. A bar or rod, hinged at either end to another part, that transfers movement from one part of a machine to another.


[Middle English trais, from Old French, pl. of trait, a hauling, harness strap, from Latin tractus, a hauling, from past participle of trahere, to haul.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

trace  (v.)
1374, "to make a plan or diagram," from O.Fr. trasser "delineate, score, trace, follow, pursue" (12c.), from V.L. *tractiare "delineate, score, trace" (cf. Sp. trazar "to trace, devise, plan out," It. tracciare "to follow by foot"), from L. tractus "track, course," lit. "a drawing out," from pp. stem of trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (1)). Meaning "to pass over" (a path, etc.) is attested from c.1381. Sense of "draw an outline of" is first recorded 1390. Meaning "copy a drawing on a transparent sheet laid over it" is recorded from 1762.

trace  (n.1)
"track made by passage of a person or thing," c.1300, from O.Fr. trace, back-formation from tracier (see trace (v.)). Scientific sense of "indication of minute presence in some chemical compound" is from 1827. The verb in the sense of "follow by means of traces or tracks" is recorded from c.1450. Traces "vestiges" is from c.1400. Tracer "bullet whose course is made visible" is attested from 1910.

trace  (n.2)
"straps or chains by which an animal pulls a vehicle," c.1300, from earlier collective plural trays, from O.Fr. traiz, pl. of trait "strap for harnessing, act of drawing," from L. tractus "a drawing, track," from stem of trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (1)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: en·gram
Variant: also en·gramme /'en-"gram/
Function: noun
: a hypothetical change in neural tissue postulated inorder to account for persistence of memory called also memory trace —en·gram·mic /en-'gram-ik/ adjective

Main Entry: trace
Pronunciation: 'trAs
Function: noun
1 : the marking made by a recording instrument (as a kymograph)
2 : anamount of a chemical constituent not always quantitatively determinable because of minuteness
3 : ENGRAM —trace transitive verb —trace·able /-&-b&l/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

engram en·gram (ěn'grām')
n.
A physical alteration thought to occur in living neural tissue in response to stimuli, posited as an explanation for memory. Also called neurogram.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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