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tract

1 [trakt]

–noun

1.	an expanse or area of land, water, etc.; region; stretch.

Anatomy.

a.	a definite region or area of the body, esp. a group, series, or system of related parts or organs: the digestive tract.

b.	a bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin and destination.

3.	a stretch or period of time; interval; lapse.

4.	Roman Catholic Church. an anthem consisting of verses of Scripture, sung after the gradual in the Mass from Septuagesima until the day before Easter and on certain other occasions, taking the place of the alleluias and the verse that ordinarily accompany the gradual.

5.	Ornithology. a pteryla.

Origin:
1350–1400; (in senses referring to extent of space) < L tractus stretch (of space or time), a drawing out, equiv. to trac-, var. s. of trahere to draw + -tus suffix of v. action; (def. 4) < ML tractus, appar. identical with the above, though literal sense unexplained

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

tract

2 [trakt]

–noun

a brief treatise or pamphlet for general distribution, usually on a religious or political topic.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME tracte, appar. shortening of ML tractātus tractate

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tract¹ (trākt) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. An expanse of land or water.
2. A specified or limited area of land: developing a 30-acre tract.
3. A system of organs and tissues that together perform a specialized function: the alimentary tract.
4. A bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin, termination, and function.
Anatomy
1. A system of organs and tissues that together perform a specialized function: the alimentary tract.
2. A bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin, termination, and function.
Archaic A stretch or lapse of time.

[Middle English, period of time, from Latin tractus, course, space, period of time, from past participle of trahere, to draw.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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tract² (trākt) Pronunciation Key
n. A leaflet or pamphlet containing a declaration or appeal, especially one put out by a religious or political group.

[Middle English tracte, treatise, probably short for Latin tractātus, from past participle of tractāre, to discuss, frequentative of trahere, to draw.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tract³ (trākt) Pronunciation Key
n. The verses from Scripture sung during Lent or on Ember Days after the gradual in the Roman Catholic Mass.

[Middle English tracte, from Medieval Latin tractus, from Latin, a drawing out (from its being an uninterrupted solo); see tract¹.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tract (1)

"area," 1494, "period or lapse of time," from L. tractus "track, course, space, duration," lit, "a drawing out or pulling," from stem of trahere "to pull, draw," from PIE base *tragh- "to draw, drag, move" (cf. Slovenian trag "trace, track," M.Ir. tragud "ebb," with variant form *dhragh-; see drag). The meaning "stretch of land or water" is first recorded 1553. Specific U.S. sense of "plot of land for development" is recorded from 1912; tract houses attested from 1963.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tract (2)

"little book," 1432, probably a shortened form of L. tractatus "a handling, treatise, treatment," from tractare "to handle" (see treat). Not in any other language, according to OED.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

tract
noun
1.	an extended area of land
2.	a system of body parts that together serve some particular purpose
3.	a brief treatise on a subject of interest; published in the form of a booklet
4.	a bundle of myelinated nerve fibers following a path through the brain [syn: nerve pathway]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tract (trākt) Pronunciation Key

A series of body organs that work together to perform a specialized function, such as digestion.
A bundle of nerve fibers, especially in the central nervous system, that begin and end in the same place and share a common function.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tract (trākt)
n.

An elongated assembly of tissue or organs having a common origin, function, and termination, or a serial arrangement having a common function.
A bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin, termination, and function.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: tract
Pronunciation: 'trakt
Function: noun
1 : a system of body parts or organs that act together to perform some function tract> —see GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT, UPPERRESPIRATORY TRACT
2 : a bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin, termination, and function and especially one within the spinal cord or brain called also fibertract; —see CORTICOSPINAL TRACT,

OLFACTORY TRACT

, OPTIC TRACT,

SPINOTHALAMIC TRACT

; —compare FASCICULUS b

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tract

Tract\, n. [Abbrev.fr. tractate.] A written discourse or dissertation, generally of short extent; a short treatise, especially on practical religion.

The church clergy at that time writ the best collection of tracts against popery that ever appeared. --Swift.

Tracts for the Times. See Tractarian.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tract

Tract\, n. [L. tractus a drawing, train, track, course, tract of land, from trahere tractum, to draw. Senses 4 and 5 are perhaps due to confusion with track. See Trace,v., and cf. Tratt.]

1. Something drawn out or extended; expanse. "The deep tract of hell." --Milton.

2. A region or quantity of land or water, of indefinite extent; an area; as, an unexplored tract of sea.

A very high mountain joined to the mainland by a narrow tract of earth. --Addison.

3. Traits; features; lineaments. [Obs.]

The discovery of a man's self by the tracts of his countenance is a great weakness. --Bacon.

4. The footprint of a wild beast. [Obs.] --Dryden.

5. Track; trace. [Obs.]

Efface all tract of its traduction. --Sir T. Browne.

But flies an eagle flight, bold, and forthon, Leaving no tract behind. --Shak.

6. Treatment; exposition. [Obs.] --Shak.

7. Continuity or extension of anything; as, the tract of speech. [Obs.] --Older.

8. Continued or protracted duration; length; extent. "Improved by tract of time." --Milton.

9. (R. C. Ch.) Verses of Scripture sung at Mass, instead of the Alleluia, from Septuagesima Sunday till the Saturday befor Easter; -- so called because sung tractim, or without a break, by one voice, instead of by many as in the antiphons.

Syn: Region; district; quarter; essay; treatise; dissertation.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tract

Tract\, v. t. To trace out; to track; also, to draw out; to protact. [Obs.] --Spenser. --B. Jonson.

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