Where does “trait” come from?
Trait comes from Middle French trait, from Latin tractus, past participle of trahere (to pull or draw), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰregʰ- meaning to draw or drag.
trait (English): An identifying characteristic, habit or trend; An...
Definitions
- An identifying characteristic, habit or trend; An...
Ancestry of “trait”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | trait | line, feature |
| 2 | Latin | tractus | dragged, having been dragged; trailed, having... |
| 3 | Latin | trahere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 4 | Latin | traho | I drag, pull; I trail; I extract, withdraw |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | traɣō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tregʰ- | to drag, pull?; to run, walk |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰregʰ- | to run |
Words derived from “trait”