Trace
[treɪs] or [tres]
Definition
(noun.) either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree.
(noun.) an indication that something has been present; 'there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claim'; 'a tincture of condescension'.
(noun.) a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person or animal or vehicle.
(noun.) a just detectable amount; 'he speaks French with a trace of an accent'.
(verb.) follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something; 'We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba' ; 'trace the student's progress'.
(verb.) make a mark or lines on a surface; 'draw a line'; 'trace the outline of a figure in the sand'.
(verb.) copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of; 'trace a design'; 'trace a pattern'.
(verb.) make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along; 'The children traced along the edge of the dark forest'; 'The women traced the pasture'.
(verb.) to go back over again; 'we retraced the route we took last summer'; 'trace your path'.
(verb.) discover traces of; 'She traced the circumstances of her birth'.
Editor: Ramon--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) One of two straps, chains, or ropes of a harness, extending from the collar or breastplate to a whiffletree attached to a vehicle or thing to be drawn; a tug.
(v. t.) A mark left by anything passing; a track; a path; a course; a footprint; a vestige; as, the trace of a carriage or sled; the trace of a deer; a sinuous trace.
(v. t.) A very small quantity of an element or compound in a given substance, especially when so small that the amount is not quantitatively determined in an analysis; -- hence, in stating an analysis, often contracted to tr.
(v. t.) A mark, impression, or visible appearance of anything left when the thing itself no longer exists; remains; token; vestige.
(v. t.) The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
(v. t.) The ground plan of a work or works.
(v. t.) To mark out; to draw or delineate with marks; especially, to copy, as a drawing or engraving, by following the lines and marking them on a sheet superimposed, through which they appear; as, to trace a figure or an outline; a traced drawing.
(v. t.) To follow by some mark that has been left by a person or thing which has preceded; to follow by footsteps, tracks, or tokens.
(v. t.) Hence, to follow the trace or track of.
(v. t.) To copy; to imitate.
(v. t.) To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.
(v. i.) To walk; to go; to travel.
Typed by Enid
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Footprint, footmark, footstep, track, trail, wake.[2]. Mark, sign, token, vestige, record, memorial, remains.
v. a. [1]. Follow (by a track or mark), track, trail.[2]. Delineate, draw, sketch, mark out, trace out.
Typist: Mason
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Explore, track, follow, derive, deduce, thread, investigate, delineate, pursue
ANT:Miss, lose, misinvestigate, misdelineate
Edited by Constantine
Definition
n. a mark left: footprint: a small quantity: (fort.) the ground-plan of a work.—v.t. to follow by tracks or footsteps to discover the tracks of to follow step by step to traverse: to follow with exactness: to sketch: to cover with traced lines or tracery.—v.i. to move travel: to dance.—adj. Trace′able that may be traced.—n. Trace′ableness.—adv. Trace′ably.—ns. Trā′cer; Trā′cery ornamentation traced in flowing outline: the beautiful forms in stone with which the arches of Gothic windows are filled for the support of the glass.
n. one of the straps by which a vehicle is drawn.
Checker: Maryann
Examples
- It is a duty we all owe to the poor creature herself to trace her, continued Sir Percival. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- If it be analogous, we may hope to explain its causes from analogy, and trace it up to more general principles. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- The reader will excuse me if I conceal the date or any other fact by which he might trace the actual occurrence. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Here we cannot trace out the tangle of alliances and betrayals that ended in the ascendancy of this Octavian, the adopted heir of Julius C?sar. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- No trace could be found of the fugitives, and now, on Thursday morning, we are as ignorant as we were on Tuesday. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- We have no trace of him at present, although our exertions to discover him are unremitted; but they will not restore my beloved William. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- But they were generally accompanied by a sense of compunction and self-abasement of which Newland Archer felt no trace. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- It _is_ wonderful, replied Wickham, for almost all his actions may be traced to pride; and pride had often been his best friend. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- There is no apparent relation between effects so dissimilar; yet the steps of progress can be distinctly traced, from the attraction of a feather to the development of the electric telegraph. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- I have been a little hard on her, perhaps, in my own thoughts--I have almost hoped that the loss of the Diamond might be traced to _her_. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- I eagerly traced the windings of the land, and hailed a steeple which I at length saw issuing from behind a small promontory. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Its pioneer form may be traced back to the Middle Ages, when heavy weights were lifted by aid of an apparatus worked by hand power. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- She told him how she had traced him, reproached him. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- All records had been heretofore traced for visual inspection only. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The artist then has a limited portion of the wall covered over with a fine sort of plaster, and upon this he traces from his cartoon the part of the design suited for the space. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Of course I shall be careful to conceal any traces of this interview from Mr and Mrs Boffin, as long as I remain here. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- A cause traces the way to our thought, and in a manner forces us to survey such certain objects, in such certain relations. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- The traces of consumption may become fainter, or be wholly effaced: the inherent tendency to vice or crime may be eradicated. Plato. The Republic.
- She seemed to be more soured and put out than distressed, by failing to find any traces of her daughter in these parts. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I am sure that you cannot fail to be delighted with the traces of heredity shown in the p's and in the tails of the g's. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- In the great city all traces of them might be most speedily and most surely effaced. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- You look like the effigy of a young knight asleep on his tomb, she said, carefully tracing the well-cut profile defined against the dark stone. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- As her glasses are of remarkable strength, and as opticians are not very numerous, there should be no difficulty in tracing her. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- As a means of tracing him, if he wished to inquire about him from any third person. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- And now that we know what they are like there is no difficulty in tracing out the sort of life which awaits either of them. Plato. The Republic.
- A pencil point is secured to moving cross-head and marks position of target on ground glass, tracing movement of same thereon. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Well, if our conjecture is correct and the girl's name is or was Sophy Kratides, we should have no difficulty in tracing her. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- We pass over Leonardo da Vinci and many others in Italy and elsewhere, whose names should be mentioned if we were tracing this method to its origin. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
Inputed by Donald