the.com/trace
The faintest proof that something was here before it wasn't.
means A trace is a tiny remaining mark or sign that something existed, happened, or passed by — or the act of following such marks to their source, or carefully copying a line.
from From Old French 'tracier' (to make one's way, follow a path), descended from Latin 'tractus,' meaning a dragging or drawing-out — the past participle of 'trahere,' to pull or drag. So a trace is, at root, the line something leaves when it's dragged along: the furrow of a path, the streak of a passing thing. The same Latin 'trahere' pulls its weight in 'tractor,' 'attract,' and 'extract' — all cousins in the business of dragging.
- chemistry
- Trace elements are vital despite barely existing in you.
- latin root
- From tractus, meaning dragged or pulled along.
- detective work
- To trace is to follow ghosts backward.
- engineering
- PCB traces are the copper veins of electronics.
- vanishing act
- Without a trace means leaving even absence behind.
appalachian trail — 2,190-mile hiking trail from georgia to maine, completed by thousands annually
oregon trail — 2,170-mile westward emigrant route used by 400,000+ settlers 1840-1869
trace minerals — elements like zinc, selenium, copper needed in tiny amounts for human health