dictionary definitions for "trace"


From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Trace \Trace\, v. i.
     To walk; to go; to travel. [Obs.]
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           Not wont on foot with heavy arms to trace. --Spenser.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Trace \Trace\, n. [F. trais. pl. of trait. See Trait.]
     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.
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     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.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Trace \Trace\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. traced; p. pr. & vb. n.
     tracing.] [OF. tracier, F. tracer, from (assumed) LL.
     tractiare, fr.L. tractus, p. p. of trahere to draw. Cf.
     Abstract, Attract, Contract, Portratt, Tract,
     Trail, Train, Treat. ]
     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.
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              Some faintly traced features or outline of the
              mother and the child, slowly lading into the
              twilight of the woods.                --Hawthorne.
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     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.
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              You may trace the deluge quite round the globe. --T.
                                                    Burnet.
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              I feel thy power . . . to trace the ways
              Of highest agents.                    --Milton.
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     3. Hence, to follow the trace or track of.
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              How all the way the prince on footpace traced.
                                                    --Spenser.
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     4. To copy; to imitate.
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              That servile path thou nobly dost decline,
              Of tracing word, and line by line.    --Denham.
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     5. To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.
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              We do tracethis alley up and down.    --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Trace \Trace\, n. [F. trace. See Trace, v. t. ]
     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.
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     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.
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     3. A mark, impression, or visible appearance of anything left
        when the thing itself no longer exists; remains; token;
        vestige.
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              The shady empire shall retain no trace
              Of war or blood, but in the sylvan chase. --Pope.
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     4. (Descriptive Geom. & Persp.) The intersection of a plane
        of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate
        plane.
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     5. (Fort.) The ground plan of a work or works.
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     Syn.-Vestige; mark; token. See Vestige.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:

  trace
      n 1: a just detectable amount; "he speaks French with a trace of
           an accent" [syn: trace, hint, suggestion]
      2: an indication that something has been present; "there wasn't
         a trace of evidence for the claim"; "a tincture of
         condescension" [syn: trace, vestige, tincture,
         shadow]
      3: a suggestion of some quality; "there was a touch of sarcasm
         in his tone"; "he detected a ghost of a smile on her face"
         [syn: touch, trace, ghost]
      4: a drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of
         paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of
         the original image [syn: tracing, trace]
      5: either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a wagon
         or other vehicle or to a whiffletree
      6: a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of person
         or animal or vehicle
      v 1: follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of
           something; "We must follow closely the economic development
           is Cuba" ; "trace the student's progress" [syn: trace,
           follow]
      2: make a mark or lines on a surface; "draw a line"; "trace the
         outline of a figure in the sand" [syn: trace, draw,
         line, describe, delineate]
      3: to go back over again; "we retraced the route we took last
         summer"; "trace your path" [syn: trace, retrace]
      4: pursue or chase relentlessly; "The hunters traced the deer
         into the woods"; "the detectives hounded the suspect until
         they found him" [syn: hound, hunt, trace]
      5: discover traces of; "She traced the circumstances of her
         birth"
      6: 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"
      7: 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"
      8: read with difficulty; "Can you decipher this letter?"; "The
         archeologist traced the hieroglyphs" [syn: decipher,
         trace]


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