[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/trace/) [dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [T](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/t/) / trace # trace verb (trace, traces, traced, tracing); noun (a trace, traces) «trace» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova. ## Everyday 1. To trace a picture is to copy it by drawing over its lines through thin paper. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#m1) 2. To trace something is to find where it came from or where it went by following signs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#m2) 3. A trace is a very small amount or mark left behind. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#m3) 4. To trace a line or shape is to draw it or follow it with your finger. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#m4) ### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x1) - Little children trace the dotted letters to learn to write. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x2) - The police traced the stolen bike to a shop in town. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x3) - The boat disappeared without a trace. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x4) - There was a trace of chocolate on his chin. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x5) - Trace the path through the maze with your finger. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x6) - We traced our family back to Ireland. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x7) - The water had a trace of salt in it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x8) - Not a trace of him was to be found! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/#x9) ### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/trace/#x1) - 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/trace/#x2) - 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/trace/#x3) ### 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. ## On Mova - [Trees and pragmatics of «trace» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trace/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames. - [«trace» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/trace.html) on Mova free. - [Trees and pragmatics of «trace» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/trace/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames. - [«trace» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/trace.html) on Mova free.