Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “trail” come from?

Trail comes from Middle English trailen, from Old French trailler, from Vulgar Latin tragulare, from Latin tragula, from Proto-Indo-European tragʰ-.

trail (English): To follow behind ; to tail; To drag behind on...

Definitions

  1. To follow behind ; to tail; To drag behind on...

Ancestry of “trail”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtrailento hang loosely, drag along, drag away
2Old Frenchtraillerto tow; pick up the scent of a quarry
3Vulgar Latintragulareto drag
4Latintrāgula—

Words derived from “trail”

  • trailing
  • trailer
  • trailhead
  • trailblazer
  • trailblazing
  • trailside
  • entrail
  • trailless
  • backtrail
  • trailerable
  • trailblaze
  • traileth
  • trailerist
  • trailingly
  • cybertrail
  • trailerlike
  • trailhand
  • trailerless
  • trailable
  • trailerite
  • trailerful
  • vapour trail
  • vapor trail
  • disentrail
Every word from Latin trāgula →