Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Trace \Trace\, n. (Mech.)
   A connecting bar or rod, pivoted at each end to the end of
   another piece, for transmitting motion, esp. from one plane
   to another; specif., such a piece in an organ-stop action to
   transmit motion from the trundle to the lever actuating the
   stop slider.

Trace \Trace\, n. [F. trace. See {Trace}, v. t. ]
   1. A mark left by anything passing; a track; a path; a
      course; a footprint; a vestige; as, the trace of a
      carriage or sled; the trace of a deer; a sinuous trace.
      --Milton.

   2. (Chem. & Min.) A very small quantity of an element or
      compound in a given substance, especially when so small
      that the amount is not quantitatively determined in an
      analysis; -- hence, in stating an analysis, often
      contracted to tr.

   3. A mark, impression, or visible appearance of anything left
      when the thing itself no longer exists; remains; token;
      vestige.

            The shady empire shall retain no trace Of war or
            blood, but in the sylvan chase.       --Pope.

   4. (Descriptive Geom. & Persp.) The intersection of a plane
      of projection, or an original plane, with a coordinate
      plane.

   5. (Fort.) The ground plan of a work or works.

   {Syn}.-Vestige; mark; token. See {Vestige}.

Trace \Trace\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {traced}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {tracing}.] [OF. tracier, F. tracer, from (assumed) LL.
   tractiare, fr.L. tractus, p. p. of trahere to draw. Cf.
   {Abstract}, {Attract}, {Contract}, {Portratt}, {Tract},
   {Trail}, {Train}, {Treat}. ]
   1. To mark out; to draw or delineate with marks; especially,
      to copy, as a drawing or engraving, by following the lines
      and marking them on a sheet superimposed, through which
      they appear; as, to trace a figure or an outline; a traced
      drawing.

            Some faintly traced features or outline of the
            mother and the child, slowly lading into the
            twilight of the woods.                --Hawthorne.

   2. To follow by some mark that has been left by a person or
      thing which has preceded; to follow by footsteps, tracks,
      or tokens. --Cowper.

            You may trace the deluge quite round the globe. --T.
                                                  Burnet.

            I feel thy power . . . to trace the ways Of highest
            agents.                               --Milton.

   3. Hence, to follow the trace or track of.

            How all the way the prince on footpace traced.
                                                  --Spenser.

   4. To copy; to imitate.

            That servile path thou nobly dost decline, Of
            tracing word, and line by line.       --Denham.

   5. To walk over; to pass through; to traverse.

            We do tracethis alley up and down.    --Shak.

Trace \Trace\, n. [F. trais. pl. of trait. See {Trait}.]
   One of two straps, chains, or ropes of a harness, extending
   from the collar or breastplate to a whiffletree attached to a
   vehicle or thing to be drawn; a tug.

Trace \Trace\, v. i.
   To walk; to go; to travel. [Obs.]

         Not wont on foot with heavy arms to trace. --Spenser.

Source : WordNet®

trace
     v 1: follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of
          something; "We must follow closely the economic
          development is Cuba" ; "trace the student's progress"
          [syn: {follow}]
     2: make a mark or lines on a surface; "draw a line"; "trace the
        outline of a figure in the sand" [syn: {draw}, {line}, {describe},
         {delineate}]
     3: to go back over again; "we retraced the route we took last
        summer"; "trace your path" [syn: {retrace}]
     4: pursue or chase relentlessly; "The hunters traced the deer
        into the woods"; "the detectives hounded the suspect until
        they found the him" [syn: {hound}, {hunt}]
     5: discover traces of; "She traced the circumstances of her
        birth"
     6: make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass
        over, around, or along; "The children traced along the
        edge of the drak forest"; "The women traced the pasture"
     7: copy by following the lines of the original drawing on a
        transparent sheet placed upon it; make a tracing of;
        "trace a design"; "trace a pattern"
     8: read with difficulty; "Can you decipher this letter?"; "The
        archeologist traced the hieroglyphs" [syn: {decipher}]

trace
     n 1: a just detectable amount; "he speaks French with a trace of
          an accent" [syn: {hint}, {suggestion}]
     2: an indication that something has been present; "there wasn't
        a trace of evidence for the claim"; "a tincture of
        condescension" [syn: {vestige}, {tincture}, {shadow}]
     3: a suggestion of some quality; "there was a touch of sarcasm
        in his tone"; "he detected a ghost of a smile on her face"
        [syn: {touch}, {ghost}]
     4: drawing created by tracing [syn: {tracing}]
     5: either of two lines that connect a horse's harness to a
        wagon or other vehicle or to a whiffletree
     6: a visible mark (as a footprint) left by the passage of
        person or animal or vehicle