Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Trace
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.
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
Milton.
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
Of war or blood, but in the sylvan chase.
trace
Of war or blood, but in the sylvan chase.
Pope.
4.
(Descriptive Geom. & Persp.)
The intersection of a plane of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate plane.
Trace
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
traced
; p. pr. & vb. n.
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
drawingSome faintly
traced
features or outline of the mother and the child, slowly lading into the twilight of the woods. Hawthorne.
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.
Cowper.
You may
trace
the deluge quite round the globe. T. Burnet.
I feel thy power . . . to
Of highest agents.
trace
the waysOf highest agents.
Milton.
3.
Hence, to follow the trace or track of.
How all the way the prince on footpace
traced
. Spenser.
4.
To copy; to imitate.
That servile path thou nobly dost decline,
Of
Of
tracing
word, and line by line. Denham.
5.
To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.
We do
trace
this alley up and down. Shakespeare
Trace
,Verb.
I.
To walk; to go; to travel.
[Obs.]
Not wont on foot with heavy arms to
trace
. Spenser.
Webster 1828 Edition
Trace
TRACE
,Noun.
1.
A mark left by any thing passing; a footstep; a track; a vestige; as the trace of a carriage or sled; the trade of a man or of a deer.2.
Remains; a mark, impression or visible appearance of any thing left when the thing itself no longer exists. We are told that there are no traces of ancient Babylon now to be seen. The shady empire shall retain no trace
Of war or blood, but in the sylvan chase.
TRACE
,Noun.
TRACE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To mark out; to draw or delineate with marks; as, to race a figure with a pencil; to trace the outline of any thing.2.
To follow by some mark that has been left by something which has preceded; to follow by footsteps or tracks. You may trace the deluge quite round the globe.
I feel thy power to trace the ways
Of highest agents.
3.
To follow with exactness. That servile path thou nobly do'st decline,
Of tracing word by word, and line by line.
4.
To walk over. We do trace this alley up and down.