All 14 Uses of

trace
in
Moby Dick

I opine, that it is plainly traceable to the first arrival of the Greenland whaling ships in London, more than two centuries ago.†
Chpt 91-93 *

traceable = able to be found

standard suffix: The suffix "-able" means able to be. This is the same pattern you see in words like breakable, understandable, and comfortable.

But at last in his untraceable evolutions, the White Whale so crossed and recrossed, and in a thousand ways entangled the slack of the three lines now fast to him, that they foreshortened, and, of themselves, warped the devoted boats towards the planted irons in him; though now for a moment the whale drew aside a little, as if to rally for a more tremendous charge.†
Chpt 133-135

untraceable = impossible to find

standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in untraceable means not and reverses the meaning of traceable. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.

Nor was the pulpit itself without a trace of the same sea-taste that had achieved the ladder and the picture.†
Chpt 7-9 *

Through all his unearthly tattooings, I thought I saw the traces of a simple honest heart; and in his large, deep eyes, fiery black and bold, there seemed tokens of a spirit that would dare a thousand devils.†
Chpt 10-12

Then seating himself before it, you would have seen him intently study the various lines and shadings which there met his eye; and with slow but steady pencil trace additional courses over spaces that before were blank.†
Chpt 43-45

While thus employed, the heavy pewter lamp suspended in chains over his head, continually rocked with the motion of the ship, and for ever threw shifting gleams and shadows of lines upon his wrinkled brow, till it almost seemed that while he himself was marking out lines and courses on the wrinkled charts, some invisible pencil was also tracing lines and courses upon the deeply marked chart of his forehead.†
Chpt 43-45

All down her sides, this spectral appearance was traced with long channels of reddened rust, while all her spars and her rigging were like the thick branches of trees furred over with hoar-frost.†
Chpt 52-54 *

Nor when expandingly lifted by your subject, can you fail to trace out great whales in the starry heavens, and boats in pursuit of them; as when long filled with thoughts of war the Eastern nations saw armies locked in battle among the clouds.†
Chpt 55-57

Do ye see this dent, sir"—removing his hat, and brushing aside his hair, and exposing a bowl-like cavity in his skull, but which bore not the slightest scarry trace, or any token of ever having been a wound—"Well, the captain there will tell you how that came here; he knows."†
Chpt 100-102

But not alone has this Leviathan left his pre-adamite traces in the stereotype plates of nature, and in limestone and marl bequeathed his ancient bust; but upon Egyptian tablets, whose antiquity seems to claim for them an almost fossiliferous character, we find the unmistakable print of his fin.†
Chpt 103-105

For, thought Ahab, while even the highest earthly felicities ever have a certain unsignifying pettiness lurking in them, but, at bottom, all heartwoes, a mystic significance, and, in some men, an archangelic grandeur; so do their diligent tracings-out not belie the obvious deduction.†
Chpt 106-108

With his snow-white new ivory leg braced against the screwed leg of his table, and with a long pruning-hook of a jack-knife in his hand, the wondrous old man, with his back to the gangway door, was wrinkling his brow, and tracing his old courses again.†
Chpt 109-111

At one extremity the rope was unstranded, and the separate spread yarns were all braided and woven round the socket of the harpoon; the pole was then driven hard up into the socket; from the lower end the rope was traced half-way along the pole's length, and firmly secured so, with intertwistings of twine.†
Chpt 112-114

But once gone through, we trace the round again; and are infants, boys, and men, and Ifs eternally.†
Chpt 112-114

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Best Example Sentences
From Other Sources
Grouped by 4 Meanings

Definitions:

(1) (trace as in: found a trace of)
a small quantity; or any indication or evidence of
The exact meaning of this sense of trace depends upon its context. For example:
- a small indication that something was present -- as in "The plane disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean without leaving a trace."
- a very small amount of something -- as in "The blood test showed a trace of steroids."
- any evidence of something -- as in "We did not find a trace of the gene."
(2) (trace as in: trace the origin or development)
to find, search, research, or keep track of
This sense of trace usually has to do with information. It's specific meaning depends on its context. For example:
to find or search for something through investigation -- often the origin of something:
- "The police traced the call." -- found out where it originated
- "We are tracing the lost luggage" -- searching for
- "Can you trace the problem to its source?" -- find through investigation
- "She traced her family history to discover that her great-grandmother came to the United States from Lithuania when the Nazis occupied it." -- discovered something through investigation
to research or report on the development of something
- "She traced the history of the automobile in her paper." -- researched the development of something
- "Her presentation traced recent progress in alternative energy solutions." -- reported on
to monitor or keep track of the progress or development of something
- "She traces the progress of at-risk students." -- monitors information
- "I used binoculars to trace her progress up the mountain." -- monitor, follow, or track
(3) (trace as in: trace a picture or outline)
copy the lines of an image; or draw an outline; or carefully draw a specific pattern
This sense of trace has to do with drawing, but it's specific meaning depends on its context. For example:
copying the outline of an image
- "She used tracing paper to make a copy." -- paper you can see through, so that when it is placed on a picture, you can use a pencil to follow the lines of the image being copied
- "She projected the image onto the wall, hung a sheet of paper there, and traced the projected image onto the paper." -- followed the lines with her pencil
draw an outline or a specific pattern
- "She used her toe to trace half the fish symbol in the sand." -- draw a simple outline
- "The child used a stick to trace circles and swirls in the mud." -- draw
- "She used her finger to trace his name in the sand." -- draw
(4) (trace as in: traced a path)
to follow
The exact meaning of this sense of trace depends upon its context. For example:
- "The hunters traced the deer into the woods." -- followed or tracked
- "With soft kisses, she gently traced the scar running down his cheek." -- followed
- "The path traces along the edge of the forest." -- follows
- "A single tear traced its way down her cheek." -- followed a specific path
(5) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

See a comprehensive dictionary for specialized meanings of trace in mathematics, medicine, engineering and other areas.

Page Numbers by Book Edition

trace in Moby Dick

trace
in
Moby Dick