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 (someone or something); to tail (someone or something)

Definitions

  1. To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something)

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
4Latintrāgulaa javelin or dart having a throwing-strap (āmentum)

Words derived from “trail”

Every word from Latin trāgula →