trace
Definitions
To follow the development or origin of something back to its source
追溯，追踪（来源、发展）
To find someone or something by following clues
查找，追查（人或物的下落）
To copy a drawing by following its lines through thin paper
描摹，勾画（沿线条临摹）
A tiny amount or mark left behind as a sign of something
痕迹，踪迹；微量
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Old French tracier (Latin tractiare, from trahere 'to draw'). All senses follow a drawn line: you trace a history back along the line it left; you trace a drawing by following its lines; and a trace is the faint line or mark left behind.
Root tra still carries 109 more wordsWhy It Means This
trace ties the whole 'drawing' side of the root together. trahere could mean not just 'pull' but 'draw a line,' and a trace is exactly that line — the mark dragged behind something as it passes. From the physical line came two directions: following the line backward (trace a history) and laying a line down by copying (trace a drawing).
Common Collocations
- 1.trace back to追溯至
- 2.trace the origin追溯起源
- 3.no trace of毫无……的踪迹
- 4.trace a route追踪路线
Example Sentences
- 1.
Historians traced the family line back to the 1600s.
- 2.
Police are trying to trace the missing witness.
- 3.
There was no trace of the hikers after the storm.
- 4.
She traced the outline of the map onto thin paper.