vestige
[ ves-tij ]
/ ˈvɛs tɪdʒ /
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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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Origin of vestige
First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French, from Latin vestīgium “footprint”
synonym study for vestige
1. See trace1.
Words nearby vestige
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences 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
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Medical 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.