Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

vestige

 - 5 dictionary results

ves⋅tige

[ves-tij]
–noun
1. a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence: A few columns were the last vestiges of a Greek temple.
2. a surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, etc.: These superstitions are vestiges of an ancient religion.
3. a very slight trace or amount of something: Not a vestige remains of the former elegance of the house.
4. Biology. a degenerate or imperfectly developed organ or structure that has little or no utility, but that in an earlier stage of the individual or in preceding evolutionary forms of the organism performed a useful function.
5. Archaic. a footprint; track.

Origin:
1535–45; < MF < L vestīgium footprint


1. token. See trace. 3. hint, suggestion.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vestige
ves·tige   (věs'tĭj)   
n.  
  1. A visible trace, evidence, or sign of something that once existed but exists or appears no more.

  2. Biology A rudimentary or degenerate, usually nonfunctioning, structure that is the remnant of an organ or part that was fully developed or functioning in a preceding generation or an earlier stage of development.


[French, from Old French, from Latin vestīgium.]
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

vestige 
1602, from Fr. vestige "a mark, trace, sign," from L. vestigium "footprint, trace," of unknown origin. Vestigial first recorded 1877.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ves·tige
Pronunciation: 'ves-tij
Function: noun
: a bodily part or organ that is small and degenerate or imperfectly developed incomparison to one more fully developed in an earlier stage of the individual, in a past generation, or in closely related forms
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

vestige ves·tige (věs'tĭj)
n.
A rudimentary or degenerate, usually nonfunctioning, structure that is the remnant of an organ or a part that was fully developed or functioning in a preceding generation or an earlier stage of development.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see vestige on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: