English
trace
Trace comes from Old French trace ‘an outline, track, trace’.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400trace‘an outline, track, trace’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘an track that isn't demarcated’
- Englishearliest quotation 1963same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400trace‘an outline, track, trace’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘an track that isn't demarcated’
- Englishearliest quotation 1963same form
Earliest quotation: 1963, Margery Allingham, London: Chatto & Windus: “The highway to the East Coast which ran through…”
Every English word from Old French trace
Another origin of trace
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400tracer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tracen‘to track or trace something’
- Englishtodaytrace
Today it means
noun An act of tracing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French trace / trace