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Webster 1913 Edition

Vestige

Ves′tige

,
Noun.
[F., from L.
vestigium
footprint, trace, sign; the last part (
-stigium
) is probably akin to E.
sty
, v. i. Cf.
Investigate
.]
1.
The mark of the foot left on the earth; a track or footstep; a trace; a sign; hence, a faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has perished, or is no longer present; remains;
as, the
vestiges
of ancient magnificence in Palmyra;
vestiges
of former population
.
What
vestiges
of liberty or property have they left?
Burke.
Ridicule has followed the
vestiges
of Truth, but never usurped her place.
Landor.
Syn. – Trace; mark; sign; token.
–
Vestige
,
Trace
. These words agree in marking some indications of the past, but differ to some extent in their use and application. Vestige is used chiefly in a figurative sense, for the remains of something long passed away;
as, the
vestiges
of ancient times;
vestiges
of the creation
. A trace is literally something drawn out in a line, and may be used in this its primary sense, or figuratively, to denote a sign or evidence left by something that has passed by, or ceased to exist. Vestige usually supposes some definite object of the past to be left behind; while a trace may be a mere indication that something has been present or is present;
as,
traces
of former population; a
trace
of poison in a given substance
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Vestige

VES'TIGE

,
Noun.
[L. vestigium. This word and vestibule, show that some verb signifying to tread, from which they are derived, is lost.]
A track or footstep; the mark of the foot left on the earth; but mostly used for the mark or remains of something else; as the vestiges of ancient magnificence in Palmyra; vestiges of former population.

Definition 2024

vestige

vestige

English

Noun

vestige ‎(plural vestiges)

  1. The mark of the foot left on the earth; a track or footstep; a trace; a sign.
  2. A faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has perished, or is no longer present; remains.
    the vestiges of ancient magnificence in Palmyra;  vestiges of former population‎
    • 1788, James Hutton, Theory of the earth, page 166:
      The result, therefore, of this physical inquiry is, that we find no vestige of a beginning,— no prospect of an end.
    • 1871, Charles Darwin, Descent of Man, Chapter I:
      Nevertheless in some cases, my original view, that the points are vestiges of the tips of formerly erect and pointed ears, still seems to me probable.
    • 1895, H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, Chapter VIII:
      Only ragged vestiges of glass remained in its windows, and great sheets of the green facing had fallen away from the corroded metallic framework.
    • 1911, “Angkor”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:
      The chief remains of the Roman Calagurris are the vestiges of an aqueduct and an amphitheatre.
    • 1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick:
      The hovel stood in the centre of what had once been a vegetable garden, but was now a patch of rank weeds. Surrounding this, almost like a zareba, was an irregular ring of gorse and brambles, an unclaimed vestige of the original common.
  3. (biology) A vestigial organ; a non-functional organ or body part that was once functional in an evolutionary ancestor.
    • 1904 Transactions of the […] annual session, Volume 40, Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, p160
      Any person seeing such a condition could not help being frightened at the conditions found, and it seems to me that that fact should lead us to think that the appendix is a vestige or becoming so.
    • 1932 John Arthur Thomson, Riddles of science, Ayer Publishing, p824
      Now this paired organ of Jacobsen began in reptiles and is well developed in many mammals. But in man it is a vestige, often disappearing altogether; and the two openings are closed.
    • 2007 R. Randal Bollingera, Andrew S. Barbasa, Errol L. Busha, Shu S. Lina, & William Parkera, "Biofilms in the large bowel suggest an apparent function of the human vermiform appendix," Journal of Theoretical Biology
      This idea was confirmed by Scott, who performed a detailed comparative analysis of primate anatomy and demonstrated conclusively that the appendix is derived for some unidentified function and is not a vestige.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

External links

  • vestige in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • vestige in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

vestige

  1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of vestigen

Anagrams

French

Noun

vestige m ‎(plural vestiges)

  1. vestige, relic

Etymology

From French, from Latin vestigium ‎(“footstep, footprint, track, the sole of the foot, a trace, mark”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈvɛstɪdʒ/

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