vestige

noun

ves·​tige ˈve-stij How to pronounce vestige (audio)
1
a(1)
: a trace, mark, or visible sign left by something (such as an ancient city or a condition or practice) vanished or lost
(2)
: the smallest quantity or trace
2
: a bodily part or organ that is small and degenerate or imperfectly developed in comparison to one more fully developed in an earlier stage of the individual, in a past generation, or in closely related forms

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Vestige, Trace, and Track

Vestige traces to Latin vestigium, meaning "footstep, footprint, or track." Like its parent, it is used to refer to a perceptible sign made by something that has passed or to a tangible reminder, such as a fragment or remnant of what is past and gone.

Choose the Right Synonym for vestige

trace, vestige, track mean a perceptible sign made by something that has passed.

trace may suggest any line, mark, or discernible effect.

the killer left no traces

vestige applies to a tangible reminder such as a fragment or remnant of what is past and gone.

boulders that are vestiges of the last ice age

track implies a continuous line that can be followed.

the fossilized tracks of dinosaurs

Examples of vestige in a Sentence

a few strange words carved on a tree were the only vestige of the lost colony of Roanoke the fossilized vestige of a dinosaur that traversed that muddy landscape millions of years ago
Recent Examples on the Web The demise of the news conference also erased the last vestiges of the reform era. Li Yuan, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024 The commission was given a mandate to remove vestiges of the Confederacy from the military and recommend name changes. David Mark, Washington Examiner, 4 Jan. 2024 Another vestige of days long past has gone the way of modern college football. Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024 Now, these juntas have taken steps to wrap themselves in anti-Western rhetoric and have taken preliminary steps to rid themselves of the vestiges of their colonial past. Daniel Markind, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 America’s obsession with football showed no signs of abating in 2023, cementing the NFL as one of the last vestiges of the monoculture in an era of fractured media consumption. Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2024 Lincoln suggested the issue in Black communities may have deep and dark roots, a vestige of American slavery when slave owners discouraged sleep in favor of labor. Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024 One of the last remaining vestiges of Detroit’s Boblo Island, the Ste. Claire steamship, lost its status as a National Historical Landmark after being deemed irreparable from a 2018 fire. Detroit Free Press, 17 Jan. 2024 Opened in 2010, the style-conscious shop is the last vestige of Marc Jacobs’s once-sprawling Bleecker Street retail empire. The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vestige.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin vestigium footstep, footprint, track, vestige

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Time Traveler
The first known use of vestige was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near vestige

Cite this Entry

“Vestige.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vestige. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

vestige

noun
ves·​tige ˈves-tij How to pronounce vestige (audio)
1
a
: a trace, mark, or visible sign left by something (as an ancient city or a condition or practice) vanished or lost
vestiges of lost civilizations
b
: the smallest quantity or trace
not a vestige of regret
2
: a small and imperfectly developed bodily part or organ that is the remains of one that was more fully developed in an earlier stage of the individual, in a past generation, or in a closely related form
vestigial adjective
Etymology

from French vestige "sign of something vanished or lost," from Latin vestigium "footprint" — related to investigate

Medical Definition

vestige

noun
ves·​tige ˈves-tij How to pronounce vestige (audio)
: a bodily part or organ that is small and degenerate or imperfectly developed in comparison to one more fully developed in an earlier stage of the individual, in a past generation, or in closely related forms

More from Merriam-Webster on vestige

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