vestigial

adjective

ves·​ti·​gial ve-ˈsti-jē-əl 

-jəl

1

of a body part or organ : remaining in a form that is small or imperfectly developed and not able to function : being or having the form of a vestige (see vestige sense 2)

a vestigial tail

Kiwis lack an external tail, and their vestigial wings are entirely hidden beneath a curious plumage—shaggy, more like fur than feathers …

—Stephen Jay Gould

2

: remaining as the last small part of something that existed before

It's held in the Gold Room, a vestigial ballroom of the kind that every downtown hotel uses for banquets and conventions.

—William Zinsser

Later colonial laws … prohibited even speaking the Pequot language, now long dead but for a few vestigial words.

—Kirk Johnson

vestigially

ve-ˈsti-jē-ə-lē 

-jə-lē

adverb

Examples of vestigial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Not surprisingly, Fort Lauderdale has historically been seen — and seen itself — as a vestigial appendage of its southern neighbor rather than an equal force to be respected and reckoned with. —Peter Lane Taylor, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

The idea feels like a funny vestigial trace of a pre-pandemic world—Are watercooler topics still a thing? —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 21 May 2025

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy deployed his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, to resolve a vestigial colonial dispute in Southeast Asia. —Timothy Naftali, Foreign Affairs, 2 May 2025

Vuzix is primarily a white-label and enterprise-focused wearable display company with only a vestigial eye on consumers. —PC Magazine, 11 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin vestigium + English -al entry 1

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

vestigial

adjective

ves·​tig·​ial ve-ˈstij-(ē-)əl 

: of, relating to, or being a vestige

a vestigial structure

vestigially

-ē 

adverb