vestige

noun

ves·​tige ˈve-stij 

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 sense 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

Did you know?

Though English is categorized as a Germanic language, there’s no denying the enormousness of Latin’s footprint on its lexicon. Among English’s plethora of Latin derivatives is vestige, a word that traces back to the Latin noun vestigium, meaning "footstep, footprint, or track." Like its forebear, vestige refers 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. Vestige also happens to be one of only a few vestiges of vestigium itself, along with the adjective vestigial ("remaining as the last part of something that existed before") and the familiar verb investigate.

Synonyms of vestige

• relic
• trace
• remnant

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

Getty Images Southwest Airlines officially ended its 50-year open seating policy on Tuesday, and with it, the last vestige of what made the airline psychologically distinctive in the minds of customers. —Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026

The Front Page Highlights The president used a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland to renounce the last vestiges of the liberal democratic order. —Peter S. Goodman Katie Glueck Apoorva Mandavilli Michael Thomsen, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2026

Woven through the city are vestiges of that trauma and strife from years past and from days and weeks present. —Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 24 Jan. 2026

Roots in vestiges of Cold War anxieties (the same time period in which the Fermi Paradox emerged), tech leaders often saw a false binary of either limitless prosperity or complete societal collapse, Charbonneau argued. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026

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)

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Kids Definition

vestige

noun

ves·​tige ˈves-tij 

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

ve-ˈstij-(ē-)əl 

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 

: 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