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Trace   /treɪs/   Listen
noun
Trace  n.  
1.
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.
2.
(Mech.) A connecting bar or rod, pivoted at each end to the end of another piece, for transmitting motion, esp. from one plane to another; specif., such a piece in an organ-stop action to transmit motion from the trundle to the lever actuating the stop slider.


Trace  n.  
1.
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.
2.
(Chem. & Min.) 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.
3.
A mark, impression, or visible appearance of anything left when the thing itself no longer exists; remains; token; vestige. "The shady empire shall retain no trace Of war or blood, but in the sylvan chase."
4.
(Descriptive Geom. & Persp.) The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
5.
(Fort.) The ground plan of a work or works.


verb
Trace  v. t.  (past & past part. traced; pres. part. tracing)  
1.
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. "Some faintly traced features or outline of the mother and the child, slowly lading into the twilight of the woods."
2.
To follow by some mark that has been left by a person or thing which has preceded; to follow by footsteps, tracks, or tokens. "You may trace the deluge quite round the globe." "I feel thy power... to trace the ways Of highest agents."
3.
Hence, to follow the trace or track of. "How all the way the prince on footpace traced."
4.
To copy; to imitate. "That servile path thou nobly dost decline, Of tracing word, and line by line."
5.
To walk over; to pass through; to traverse. "We do tracethis alley up and down."


Trace  v. i.  To walk; to go; to travel. (Obs.) "Not wont on foot with heavy arms to trace."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Trace" Quotes from Famous Books



... its peculiar colouring; Marly showed that of Louis XIV. even more than Versailles. Everything in the former place appeared to have been produced by the magic power of a fairy's wand. Not the slightest trace of all this splendour remains; the revolutionary spoilers even tore up the pipes which served to supply the fountains. Perhaps a brief description of this palace and the usages established there by Louis XIV. ...
— Memoirs Of The Court Of Marie Antoinette, Queen Of France, Complete • Madame Campan
... that life had been so impulsive, so straightforward, so simple a thing to her that this sudden implication in an affair complicated and even dishonest caused her bitter disquiet. Looking back now I could trace again and again the sudden flashes, through her ...
— The Dark Forest • Hugh Walpole
... Many labourers can trace their descent from farmers or well-to-do people, and it is not uncommon to find here and there a man who believes that he is entitled to a large property in Chancery, or elsewhere, as the heir. They are very fond of talking of these things, and naturally take a ...
— The Toilers of the Field • Richard Jefferies
... child's face so sedulously for the first few days from the mother. Mrs. Crawfurd took the matter quite peaceably, and was relieved that no worse misfortune had befallen her or her offspring. "Poor little dear!" it was sad that she should carry such a trace; but she daresayed she would outgrow it, or she must wear flat curls—it was a pity that they had gone quite out of fashion. It was the father who kissed the mark passionately, and carried the child oftenest in his arms, and ...
— Girlhood and Womanhood - The Story of some Fortunes and Misfortunes • Sarah Tytler
... enough to receive the trap, with its log, and chain. Set the traps, supporting the pan by pushing some of the chaff beneath it. Now lay a piece of paper over the pan and sprinkle the chaff over it evenly and smoothly, until every trace of the trap and its appendages is obliterated. Endeavor to make the bed look as it has previously done, and bait it with the same materials. Avoid treading much about the bed and step in the same tracks as far as possible. Touch nothing with the naked hands. Cover ...
— Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making • William Hamilton Gibson


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