Did you know?
Though English is categorized as a Germanic language, there’s no denying the enormousness of Latin’s footprint on its lexicon. Among English’s plethora of Latin derivatives is vestige, a word that traces back to the Latin noun vestigium, meaning "footstep, footprint, or track." Like its forebear, vestige refers to a perceptible sign made by something that has passed, or to a tangible reminder, such as a fragment or remnant, of what is past and gone. Vestige also happens to be one of only a few vestiges of vestigium itself, along with the adjective vestigial ("remaining as the last part of something that existed before") and the familiar verb investigate.
Examples of vestige in a Sentence
Ollie Barder, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
The tumble erased the last vestiges of the rally Tesla enjoyed after Trump’s election victory in November, when investors clearly felt that a company run by the president-elect’s largest Super PAC donor was a smart bet.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2025
The vacant buildings in the 200 block of South State Street, among the last vestiges of the Chicago School of Architecture, were earmarked for demolition in 2022 after a proposal for a $141 million mixed-use redevelopment was shot down over security concerns raised by neighboring federal judges.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2025
The last vestiges of democracy in Pakistan have been all but erased.
—Imran Khan, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vestige
Cite this Entry
“Vestige.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vestige. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vestige
noun
from French vestige "sign of something vanished or lost," from Latin vestigium "footprint" — related to investigate
Medical Definition
vestige
noun
Share