vestige
Definitions
A small remaining trace or sign of something that no longer exists or has almost disappeared.
残迹；残余；（已消失之物留下的）一丝痕迹
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedStraight from Latin vestīgium, 'footprint.' A vestige is a footprint left by time: whatever made it has passed on, and only the faint print remains. So a vestige is the last visible trace of something otherwise gone — the last vestiges of an old custom, not a vestige of doubt.
Root vestig still carries 3 more wordsUsage Guide
vestige is literary/formal and behaves in a few set ways:
- Often negative: 'not a vestige of X' / 'without a vestige of X' stresses total absence — not a vestige of evidence, without a vestige of shame.
- Often plural: 'the last vestiges of X' for the final remnants of something fading — the last vestiges of summer, of an empire, of his authority.
- Followed by 'of': a vestige of something (not 'a vestige for').
It is more bookish than 'trace' or 'remnant' — you would not say it about a small physical leftover like food.
Example Sentences
- 1.
There was not a vestige of doubt left in her mind.
- 2.
These ruins are the last vestiges of a once-great empire.
- 3.
He answered without a vestige of the warmth he used to show.
- 4.
Old street names are the only vestige of the village that stood here.
Easily Confused
vestige vs remnant vs trace: a remnant is a leftover piece you can still use or see (a remnant of cloth, of forest); a trace is any small detectable sign (a trace of poison, of an accent); a vestige is a faint remnant of something that has largely passed away, often abstract and formal (the last vestiges of feudalism). Reach for vestige when something is nearly gone and you want a literary tone.