trace

Everyday

1. To trace a picture is to copy it by drawing over its lines through thin paper. tree →
2. To trace something is to find where it came from or where it went by following signs. tree →
3. A trace is a very small amount or mark left behind. tree →
4. To trace a line or shape is to draw it or follow it with your finger. tree →

In the lessons

In art and handwriting lessons pupils trace letters and shapes. In science a trace of something is a tiny amount (trace elements, trace of blood). In stories detectives trace a phone call, a person or a clue; someone may vanish «without a trace». Phrases: trace back, trace over, trace paper, without a trace, keep track (not «keep trace»).

Examples

• Trace the map onto the thin paper. tree →
• Little children trace the dotted letters to learn to write. tree →
• The police traced the stolen bike to a shop in town. tree →
• The boat disappeared without a trace. tree →
• There was a trace of chocolate on his chin. tree →
• Trace the path through the maze with your finger. tree →
• We traced our family back to Ireland. tree →
• The water had a trace of salt in it. tree →
• Not a trace of him was to be found! tree →

Note

Verb is regular (traced). Noun is countable (a trace, traces). «A trace of» means a very small amount, not none. Do not confuse with «track» (a path or footprints) — you «keep track», not «keep trace». Tracing a picture is copying; in a test of your own drawing it is not your own work.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: In the Sefer Yetzirah the letters are gates, and each word is seen as a path traced through them. In Ezekiel, the prophet is told to trace a picture of Jerusalem on a tile, a sign of the coming siege. In the primary lessons: In art and handwriting lessons pupils trace letters and shapes. In science a trace of something is a tiny amount (trace elements, trace of blood). In stories detectives trace a phone call, a person or a clue; someone may vanish «without a trace». Phrases: trace back, trace over, trace paper, without a trace, keep track (not «keep trace»).

Examples

• But Isaac Myer states that there are un- doubted traces of pointing in Hebrew MSS. of the second century. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• In this way every word of the Hebrew language traces a path through the ‘gates’ from one letter to the next. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
• Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and trace upon it a city, even Jerusalem; (Prophets EZK.4.1, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Verb is regular (traced). Noun is countable (a trace, traces). «A trace of» means a very small amount, not none. Do not confuse with «track» (a path or footprints) — you «keep track», not «keep trace». Tracing a picture is copying; in a test of your own drawing it is not your own work.