vestige

noun ves·tige \ ˈve-stij \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: vestige, Trace, and Track

Definition of vestige

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

b : footprint 1

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

See vestige defined for English-language learners

See vestige defined for kids

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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 of vestige from the Web

Two years ago, South Florida was home to the last vestiges of Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.

— alex daugherty, miamiherald, "Wasserman Schultz, other South Florida Democrats face scant primary opposition in 2018," 4 June 2018
If Colon, who will turn 45 on Thursday, is hanging on to the vestiges of his professional career — getting by with one pitch (a fastball) and a belly full of guile — Torres, 21, is continuing to assert his arrival.

— New York Times, "Yankees Keep the Home Runs Flying in Win Over Rangers," 21 May 2018
However, any last vestige of Milan hope was extinguished when the hapless Nikola Kalinic - who had impressed at the other end of the pitch - headed past the even more hapless Donnarumma in the 76th minute.

— SI.com, "Juventus Blows Away AC Milan in Second Half to Win 4th Straight Coppa Italia," 9 May 2018
The ensuing years have complicated those hopes: coups, government collapse and rebirth, and more recently, the advent of Islamist terrorism—fighters pushing against the remaining vestiges of Western colonialism.

— chris abani, The New Republic, "Capturing a lost era in Sanlé Sory’s studio portraits in Burkina Faso," 19 Apr. 2018
Corporate average fuel economy (Cafe) standards are a vestige of the 1970s gas shortages.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "The Fuel Economy Fraud," 3 Apr. 2018
Reactionary forces were doing their best to hang on to the last vestiges of the Victorian era’s suffocating propriety while new technologies like projectors and Victrolas were delivering movies and music to the masses.

— nancie clare, Los Angeles Magazine, "How the World’s First Movie Stars Made Sure Beverly Hills Didn’t Become Part of L.A.," 20 Feb. 2018
For all of their extraterrestrial economic ambitions, SpaceX and Blue Origin are seen as passion projects, vestiges of a time when Americans dreamed big.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "For Jeff Bezos, Space Is the Place," 31 May 2018
Stevens may not have fit in Palo Alto, but without people like him, all vestiges of radicalism may disappear.

— alana semuels, The Atlantic, "The Preacher Who Wanted to Save Silicon Valley’s Soul," 29 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vestige.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

vestige, Trace, and Track

Vestige is derived via Middle French from the Latin noun vestigium, meaning "footstep, footprint, or track." Like trace and track, vestige can refer to a perceptible sign made by something that has now passed. Of the three words, vestige is the most likely to apply to a tangible reminder, such as a fragment or remnant of what is past and gone. Trace, on the other hand, may suggest any line, mark, or discernible effect ("the snowfield is pockmarked with the traces of caribou"). Track implies a continuous line that can be followed ("the fossilized tracks of dinosaurs").

Origin and Etymology of vestige

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

See Words from the same year

vestige Synonyms

Synonyms

echo, ghost, relic, shadow, trace;

Related Words

memento, remembrance, reminder;

artifact;

afterimage, aftertaste;

balance, corpse, hangover, leftover, oddment, remainder, remnant, scrap;

dreg(s), leavings, remain(s), residual, residue, rest;

Synonym Discussion of 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

VESTIGE Defined for English Language Learners

vestige

noun

Definition of vestige for English Language Learners

: the last small part that remains of something that existed before
: the smallest possible amount of something

VESTIGE Defined for Kids

vestige

noun ves·tige \ ˈve-stij \

Definition of vestige for Students

: a tiny amount or visible sign of something lost or vanished : trace

We stayed outside to enjoy the last vestiges of daylight.

Medical Dictionary

vestige

noun ves·tige \ ˈves-tij \

medical Definition of vestige

: 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