From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
trace
n 1: a just detectable amount; "he speaks French with a trace of
an accent" [syn: trace, 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: trace, 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, trace, ghost]
4: a drawing created by superimposing a semitransparent sheet of
paper on the original image and copying on it the lines of
the original image [syn: tracing, trace]
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
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: trace,
follow]
2: make a mark or lines on a surface; "draw a line"; "trace the
outline of a figure in the sand" [syn: trace, draw,
line, describe, delineate]
3: to go back over again; "we retraced the route we took last
summer"; "trace your path" [syn: trace, retrace]
4: pursue or chase relentlessly; "The hunters traced the deer
into the woods"; "the detectives hounded the suspect until
they found him" [syn: hound, hunt, trace]
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 dark 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]