[ noun ] an indication that something has been present <noun.communication> there wasn't a trace of evidence for the claima tincture of condescension
Vestige \Ves"tige\, n. [F., from L. vestigium footprint, trace, sign; the last part (-stigium) is probably akin to E. sty, v. i. Cf. {Investigate}.] 1. The mark of the foot left on the earth; a track or footstep; a trace; a sign; hence, a faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has perished, or is no longer present; remains; as, the vestiges of ancient magnificence in Palmyra; vestiges of former population.
What vestiges of liberty or property have they left? --Burke.
Ridicule has followed the vestiges of Truth, but never usurped her place. --Landor.
2. (Biol.) A small, degenerate, or imperfectly developed part or organ which has been more fully developed in some past generation. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Syn: Trace; mark; sign; token.
Usage: {Vestige}, {Trace}. These words agree in marking some indications of the past, but differ to some extent in their use and application. Vestige is used chiefly in a figurative sense, for the remains something long passed away; as, the vestiges of ancient times; vestiges of the creation. A trace is literally something drawn out in a line, and may be used in this its primary sense, or figuratively, to denote a sign or evidence left by something that has passed by, or ceased to exist. Vestige usually supposes some definite object of the past to be left behind; while a trace may be a mere indication that something has been present or is present; as, traces of former population; a trace of poison in a given substance.
Davis, who measured a mere 5-foot-6 and weighed not much more than a jockey, died Wednesday at 64. He was the last working vestige of old-time vaudeville as well as entertainment's Renaissance man.
In a country where corruption is so rampant and the rule of law is under constant siege, the integrity of Colombia's social institutions is a cherished vestige of civilization, however elitist they may seem to some.
MLX is a vestige of the old McLouth Steel Co., which went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 1981.
Liberals from both parties, however, derided capital punishment as an ineffective vestige of less enlightened times.
Many Filipinos see them as a vestige of American colonial rule.
A minority strongly oppose the imperial system, calling it a vestige of the militarism that dominated wartime Japan.
Though Random House stopped opening such mail eight years ago, at most houses the children's slush pile is the last vestige of the gentility once common in publishing, where every manuscript is examined and sometimes even rejected with sensitivity.
Restrictions on exports of high technology to the East bloc, a vestige of the Cold War that remains entrenched, also have reduced the spectrum of trade opportunities for the Japanese, leading exporters of high-tech items.
The Bosnian Serbs have tried to erase any vestige of Moslem heritage in Bosnia.