noun · neutersecond declension
vestīgium
vestīgium n (genitive vestīgiī or vestīgī)
Classical[wɛsˈtiː.ɡi.ũː]Ecclesiastical[vesˈtiː.d͡ʒi.um]
№ 716 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- footprint, track
- trace, vestige, mark, sign
[...] adgnōscō veteris vestīgia flammae.
“… I recognize the traces of an old flame.” (In other words, Dido feels that she is falling in love.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.23 - sole of the foot
- horseshoe
- figurativelymoment, instant
omnemque Galliae salutem in illo vestigio temporis positam arbitrarentur
And they considered all the safety of Gallia laid on this moment of timec. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico VII.25
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
signum pedis in terrā; vestīgia sequī possumus.vestīgium -ī n — in Mille Verba, ch. Via et Iter
locus ubi quis esse soletvestīgium -ī (hōc locō) — in Epistulae, ch. 9
signum pedis, nota relictavestīgium -ī (n) — in Aeneis, ch. 9
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | vestīgium | vestīgia |
| genitive | vestīgiī vestīgī | vestīgiōrum |
| dative | vestīgiō | vestīgiīs |
| accusative | vestīgium | vestīgia |
| ablative | vestīgiō | vestīgiīs |
| vocative | vestīgium | vestīgia |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- loco or vestigio se non movere
- not to stir from one's place.
- vestigiis alicuius insistere, ingredi (also metaph.)
- to follow in any one's steps.
- vestigia alicuius sequi, persequi or vestigiis aliquem sequi, persequi
- to follow in any one's steps.
vestīgĭum, ii, n. id.,
I. a footstep, step; footprint, foot-track, track.
I. Lit.:
currentium pes vestigium facit, Quint. 9, 4, 67: hac socci video vestigium in pulvere, Plaut. Cist. 4, 2, 29: hominis, Plin. 8, 4, 5, § 9: in foro vestigium facere, i. e. to set foot in the market, Cic. Rab. Post. 17, 48: ponere vestigia, id. Phil. 3, 12, 31: facere vestigium in possessione, id. Caecin. 14, 39: vestigiis persequi aliquem, id. Brut. 90, 307: vestigiis sequi hostem, Liv. 9, 45, 16: eodem remanere vestigio, to stay in the same spot or place, Caes. B. G. 4, 2: negans e republicā esse, vestigium abscedi ab Hannibale, the distance of a step, Liv. 27, 4, 1: deus ille, quem mente noscimus, atque in animi notione tamquam in vestigio volumus reponere, Cic. N. D. 1, 14, 37.—B. Transf.
1. The part of the foot which makes a print, the sole of the foot: qui adversis vestigiis stent contra nostra vestigia, quos ἀντίποδας vocatis, Cic. Ac. 2, 39, 123; Cat. 64, 162; Verg. A. 5, 566.—
2. A horseshoe:
vestigium equi excussum ungulā, Plin. 28, 20, 81, § 263.—3. In gen., a trace, mark, sign, token, vestige:
praesertim cum in lectulo decumanae mulieris vestigia viderent recentia, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 34, § 79; id. de Or. 3, 2, 6; Caes. B. G. 6, 27: in vestigiis hujus urbis, ruins, Cic. Cat. 4, 6, 12: semiruta murorum vestigia, Amm. 24, 2, 6.—II. Trop., of manners, cha racter, etc., a footprint, trace:
a pueritiā vestigiis ingressus patriis et tuis, Cic. Rep. 6, 24, 26: amoris vestigia, Quint. 11, 1, 59: imprimi quaedam vestigia animo, id. 11, 2, 4: patris patruique vestigia premere, Tac. A. 2, 14 fin.—B. Transf., of time, a point, moment, instant:
eodem et loci vestigio et temporis, Cic. Pis. 9, 21: in illo vestigio temporis, Caes. B. G. 7, 25: vestigio temporis, at the moment, instantly, forthwith, id. B. C. 2, 26: ut urbs ab hostibus capta eodem vestigio videretur, at that very moment, id. ib. 2, 7.—b. A dverb.: e (ex) vestigio, instantly, forthwith:
repente e vestigio ex homine tamquam aliquo Circaeo poculo factus est Verres, Cic. Div. in Caecil. 17, 57; Sulp. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 12, 2; Caes. B. C. 2, 25 fin.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
vestīgium ī, n
cf. vestigo, the bottom of the foot, sole: adversis vestigiis stare contra nostra vestigia.—The foot: equus vestigia primi Alba pedis ostentans, V.; cf. Summa pedum vestigia tinguit, O.—A footstep, step, footprint, foot-track, track: in foro vestigium facere, i. e. to set foot: te tuis vestigiis persequi: eodem remanere vestigio, Cs.: vestigium abscedi ab Hannibale, one step, L.—In the phrase, e vestigio, on the spot, without moving, instantly, forthwith: repente evestigio ex homine factus est Verres: e vestigio ad Castra traducere, Cs.—A trace, mark, track, vestige: in lecto mulieris vestigia recentia: quarum (alcium) ex vestigiis cum est animadversum, quo, etc., Cs.: in vestigiis huius urbis, ruins: tergum foedum recentibus vestigiis verberum, L.—Fig., a footprint, trace, sign, token: a pueritiā vestigiis ingressus patriis et tuis.—Of time, a point, moment, instant: eodem loci vestigio et temporis: vestigio temporis, instantly, Cs.: ut urbs ab hostibus capta eodem vestigio videretur, at that very moment, Cs.
Origins
Perhaps from earlier *verstīgium, from the root of verrō (“to sweep”), or possibly from vē- + *stīgō, from Proto-Indo-European *stéygʰeti (“to walk”).
Descendants
- Catalanvestigi
- Englishvestige
- Frenchvestige
- Italianvestigio
- Portuguesevestígio
- Romanianvestigiu
- Spanishvestigio
In English words that came into English from vestīgium
- vestigevestīgium
- vestigialvestīgium
- vestigiumvestīgium