definitions

vestige

[ ves-tij ]
/ ˈvɛs tɪdʒ /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vestige ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence: A few columns were the last vestiges of a Greek temple.
a surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, etc.: These superstitions are vestiges of an ancient religion.
a very slight trace or amount of something: Not a vestige remains of the former elegance of the house.
Biology. a degenerate or imperfectly developed organ or structure that has little or no utility, but that in an earlier stage of the individual or in preceding evolutionary forms of the organism performed a useful function.
Archaic. a footprint; track.

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RELATED WORDS

residue, remnant, relic, glimmer, trace, hint, track, scrap, evidence, remains, token, suspicion, print, shadow, remainder, memento

Nearby words

vestibulocochlear nerve, vestibuloplasty, vestibulospinal reflex, vestibulotomy, vestibulum, vestige, vestigial, vestigial organ, vestigium, vestimentiferan, vesting

Origin of vestige

1535–45; < Middle French < Latin vestīgium footprint

SYNONYMS FOR vestige

1 token. See trace1.
3 hint, suggestion.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vestige ON THESAURUS.COM
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vestige

British Dictionary definitions for vestige

vestige

/ (ˈvɛstɪdʒ) /

noun

a small trace, mark, or amount; hinta vestige of truth; no vestige of the meal
biology an organ or part of an organism that is a small nonfunctioning remnant of a functional organ in an ancestor

Word Origin for vestige

C17: via French from Latin vestīgium track
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for vestige

vestige

[ vĕs′tĭj ]

n.

A rudimentary or degenerate, usually nonfunctioning structure that is the remnant of an organ or part that was fully developed or functioning in a preceding generation or an earlier stage of development.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.