trace

trace · noun, adjective¹

1. Old French · derived fromtrace“an outline, track, trace”
2. Middle English · inherited fromtrace
3. English todaytrace

From Middle English trace, traas, from Old French trace (“an outline, track, trace”), from the verb (see below).

trace · verb²

1. Middle Dutch · derived fromtreck
2. Latin · derived fromtrahere“to draw”
3. Vulgar Latin · derived from*tractiō“to delineate, score, trace”
4. Old French · derived fromtracer
5. Middle English · inherited fromtracen
6. English todaytrace

From Middle English tracen, from Old French tracer, trasser (“to delineate, score, trace", also, "to follow, pursue”), probably a conflation of Vulgar Latin *tractiō (“to delineate, score, trace”), from Latin trahere (“to draw”); and Old French traquer (“to chase, hunt, pursue”), from trac (“a track, trace”), from Middle Dutch treck, treke (“a drawing, draft, delineation, feature, expedition”). More at track.

Words from the same roots