trace 1 (tr s)n. 1. a. A visible mark, such as a footprint, made or left by the passage of a person, animal, or thing. b. Evidence or an indication of the former presence or existence of something; a vestige. 2. A barely perceivable indication; a touch: spoke with a trace of sarcasm. 3. a. An extremely small amount. b. A constituent, such as a chemical compound or element, present in quantities less than a standard limit. 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 a. The point at which a line, or the curve in which a surface, intersects a coordinate plane. b. 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. 6. a. To copy by following lines seen through a sheet of transparent paper. b. To follow closely (a prescribed pattern): The skater traced a figure eight. 7. a. To imprint (a design) by pressure with an instrument on a superimposed pattern. b. 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 *tracti re, 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 (trs) 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.] |
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