vestige

[ ves-tij ]

/ ˈvɛs tɪdʒ /

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.

Nearby words

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

You could hardly find a vestige of the splendid railroad depots, warehouses, etc.
Atlanta’s Fall Foretold The End Of Civil War Bloodshed|Marc Wortman|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The largest of an archipelago of islands, Santorini is the vestige of a single volcanic landmass that erupted around 1600 BC.
Book a Room for Two in a Santorini Cave|Joanna Eede|June 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A deep, raspy voice seems the only vestige of the three decades he spent pounding his body with poisons.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction|Abby Haglage|May 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She explained that “filial laws” are a vestige of English rule.
Are You Legally Responsible for Your Elderly Parents?|Keli Goff|April 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In all three categories, almost all anti-gay laws are a vestige of European colonialism, and date back approximately 150 years.
Why Africa’s Turning Anti-Gay|Jay Michaelson|March 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They will continue to feed until every vestige of the tubers is eaten, leaving the ground in a fine condition for replanting.
The Hawaiian Islands|The Department of Foreign Affairs
This being the case all felt that there was no longer any hope of finding even a vestige of the lost "Viking."
Ticket No. "9672"|Jules Verne
Every vestige of State sovereignty, of 'State rights,' is utterly annihilated in these clauses.
Continental Monthly, Vol. I, No. V, May, 1862|Various
The Doctor said last week he 'could scarcely discover a vestige of it.'
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 109, November, 1866|Various
The opposition, however, had long lost all vestige of a religious character.
Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the Native Religions of Mexico and Peru|Albert Rville

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

Word Origin and History for vestige

vestige

c.1600, from French vestige "a mark, trace, sign," from Latin vestigium "footprint, trace," of unknown origin.

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.