*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of trace

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

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adj

Extremely small or insignificant (of an amount or quantity).

noun

An act of tracing. · An enquiry sent out for a missing article, such as a letter or an express package. · A mark left as a sign of passage of a person or animal. · A very small amount, often residual, of some substance or material.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiontraceenm
  • Derivation mentiontracefro · an outline, track, trace

This page abbreviates 11 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "trace"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English trace"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "trace",
        "t": "an outline, track, trace"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French trace (“an outline, track, trace”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "trace",
      "trace#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "traas",
      "traas#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "trace",
      "trace#Old_French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Extremely small or insignificant (of an amount or quantity)."
      ],
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        "An act of tracing.",
        "An enquiry sent out for a missing article, such as a letter or an express package.",
        "A mark left as a sign of passage of a person or animal.",
        "A very small amount, often residual, of some substance or material."
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To follow the trail of. · To follow the history of. · To draw or sketch lightly or with care. · To copy onto a sheet of paper superimposed over the original, by drawing over its lines.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 4 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "tracen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English tracen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
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        "2": "fro",
        "3": "tracer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French tracer"
    },
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      "name": "der",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-vul",
        "3": "*tractiō",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to delineate, score, trace"
      },
      "expansion": "Vulgar Latin *tractiō (“to delineate, score, trace”)"
    },
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        "2": "la",
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      },
      "expansion": "Latin trahere (“to draw”)"
    },
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
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      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch treck"
    }
  ],
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      "tracen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "tracer",
      "tracer#Old_French"
    ],
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      "trasser#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*tractiō",
      "Reconstruction:Latin/tractio"
    ],
    [
      "trahere",
      "trahere#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "traquer",
      "traquer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "trac",
      "trac#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "treck",
      "treck#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
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      "treke",
      "treke#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "track",
      "track#English"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To follow the trail of.",
        "To follow the history of.",
        "To draw or sketch lightly or with care.",
        "To copy onto a sheet of paper superimposed over the original, by drawing over its lines."
      ],
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        "transitive"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for trace →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dHJhY2U