Where does “tracer” come from?
Tracer comes from English trace, which derives from Old French -er, from Latin -are, ultimately from Latin traho meaning to draw or pull.
tracer (English): A compound, element, or isotope used to track the...
Definitions
- A compound, element, or isotope used to track the...
Ancestry of “tracer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | trace | An act of tracing; An enquiry sent out for a... |
| 2 | Middle English | trace | A trail, track or road; a pathway or route; One's... |
| 3 | Old French | trace | trace (markings showing where one has been) |
| 4 | Old French | tracier | — |
| 5 | Latin | tractiāre | trace, score, delineate |
| 6 | Latin | tractus | dragged, having been dragged; trailed, having... |
| 7 | Latin | trahere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | traho | I drag, pull; I trail; I extract, withdraw |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | traɣō | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | tregʰ- | to drag, pull?; to run, walk |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰregʰ- | to run |