tract

¹

[ trakt ]

noun

1. an expanse or area of land, water, etc.; region; stretch.

   Synonyms: territory, district

2. Anatomy.
   1. a definite region or area of the body, especially a group, series, or system of related parts or organs:

      the digestive tract.

   2. a bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin and destination.
3. a stretch or period of time; interval; lapse.
4. Roman Catholic Church. an anthem consisting of verses of Scripture, sung after the gradual in the Mass from Septuagesima until the day before Easter and on certain other occasions, taking the place of the alleluias and the verse that ordinarily accompany the gradual.
5. Ornithology. a pteryla.

tract

²

[ trakt ]

noun

1. a brief treatise or pamphlet for general distribution, usually on a religious or political topic.

   Synonyms: disquisition, homily, essay

tract

¹

/ trækt /

noun

1. a treatise or pamphlet, esp a religious or moralistic one

tract

²

/ trækt /

noun

1. RC Church an anthem in some Masses

tract

³

/ trækt /

noun

1. an extended area, as of land
2. anatomy a system of organs, glands, or other tissues that has a particular function

   the digestive tract

3. a bundle of nerve fibres having the same function, origin, and termination

   the optic tract

4. archaic.
   an extended period of time

tract

/ trăkt /

1. A series of body organs that work together to perform a specialized function, such as digestion.
2. A bundle of nerve fibers, especially in the central nervous system, that begin and end in the same place and share a common function.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tract¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; (in senses referring to extent of space) from Latin tractus “stretch (of space or time), a drawing out,” equivalent to trac-, variant stem of trahere “to draw” + -tus suffix of verbal action; tract ¹def 4 is from Medieval Latin tractus, apparently identical with the above, though literal sense unexplained

Origin of tract²

1400–50; late Middle English tracte, apparently shortening of Medieval Latin tractātus tractate

Word History and Origins

Origin of tract¹

C15: from Latin tractātus tractate

Origin of tract²

C14: from Medieval Latin tractus cantus extended song; see tract ¹

Origin of tract³

C15: from Latin tractus a stretching out, from trahere to drag

Example Sentences

Finally, some biologists argue for preserving vast tracts of wilderness not yet altered by human activity.

From Science News For Students

As soon as it gets turned on by one virus, any other virus that comes along and tries to grow in the respiratory tract can’t.

From Washington Post

It’s just that despite years of research into the use of vitamin D in respiratory tract infections, there still hasn’t really been a clear, slam-dunk answer that there’s benefit.

From Washington Post

The Nature Conservancy partnered with the American Forest Foundation to create a new offset protocol designed to allow owners of small tracts of wooded land to earn credits for taking steps to suck up and store more carbon.

From MIT Technology Review

In other words, “Knives Out” sought to work as entertainment, not as a social tract or policy prescription.

From Washington Post

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract performs different digestive functions are various different locations.

From The Daily Beast

On a 2,813-acre tract roughly 30 miles west, Washington found a Calvinist sect called the Seceders squatting on his land.

From The Daily Beast

A procedure to reopen his urinary tract could have been done under local anesthesia.

From The Daily Beast

Please note that I made a contribution after reading the tract, i.e., I too am a hug-a-whale sort of guy.

From The Daily Beast

For Coming Soon, Gordon's initial plan was to make and then display her wreath paintings in a low-budget California tract house.

From The Daily Beast

It is often present in the respiratory tract under normal conditions.

From Project Gutenberg

Their usual source is the deeper layers of the urinary tract, especially of the bladder.

From Project Gutenberg

In suppurations of the urinary tract pus-producing organisms may be found.

From Project Gutenberg

Barclay, in his tract on "The Vertues of Tobacco," recommends its use as a medicine.

From Project Gutenberg

Then I ditch from the lake, and I am the proud owner of a large tract of valuable irrigated land.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• estate
• expanse
• parcel
• plot
• portion
• section