Vestige Meaning
/ˈvɛs.tɪd͡ʒ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA trace or remnant of something that is disappearing or no longer exists.
nounA mark left on the earth by a foot.
Sentence Examples
This mousepad is a vestige of a bygone era.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
There was no ____ of the old building left after the huge fire.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Only a ____ of the ancient civilization remains today.
Word Origin & History
From French vestige, from Latin vestīgium (“footstep, footprint, track, the sole of the foot, a trace, mark”). Doublet of vestigium.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The result, therefore, of this physical inquiry is, that we find no vestige of a beginning,— no prospect of an end."
— 1788, James Hutton, Theory of the earth, page 166:
"Her face was without a vestige of colour, but it only showed more strongly the perfect outline of her features. Pale she was, but not like a statue; it was a human paleness—passionate and painful."
— 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Letters Restored”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 218:
"Nevertheless in some cases, my original view, that the points are vestiges of the tips of formerly erect and pointed ears, still seems to me probable."
— 1871, Charles Darwin, Descent of Man, Chapter I:
"Only ragged vestiges of glass remained in its windows, and great sheets of the green facing had fallen away from the corroded metallic framework."
— 1895, H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, Chapter VIII:
"The chief remains of the Roman Calagurris are the vestiges of an aqueduct and an amphitheatre."
— 1911, “Angkor”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
There was no ____ of the old building left after the huge fire.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Only a ____ of the ancient civilization remains today.