Where does “trace” come from?
Trace comes from Middle English trace, from Old French trace (a mark or track), derived from Old French tracier (to track or draw), from Latin trahere (to pull or drag), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰregʰ- (to draw or move).
trace (English): An act of tracing; An enquiry sent out for a...
Definitions
- An act of tracing; An enquiry sent out for a...
Ancestry of “trace”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | trace | A trail, track or road; a pathway or route; One's... |
| 2 | Old French | trace | trace (markings showing where one has been) |
| 3 | Old French | tracier | — |
| 4 | Latin | tractiāre | trace, score, delineate |
| 5 | Latin | tractus | dragged, having been dragged; trailed, having... |
| 6 | Latin | trahere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | traho | I drag, pull; I trail; I extract, withdraw |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | traɣō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | tregʰ- | to drag, pull?; to run, walk |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰregʰ- | to run |