[a. F. vestige, ad. L. vestīgium footstep, footprint, trace, mark, etc. Cf. the earlier VESTIGY.]
I. 1. A mark, trace or visible sign of something, esp. a building or other material structure, that no longer exists or is present; a piece of material evidence of this nature; something that remains after the destruction or disappearance of the main portion.
In the singular freq. in negative phrases.
pl. 1602. J. Colville, Parænese, u ij. Not … farder … nor vnto ye vall of Septimius Seuerus … vharof the vestiges yit remane.
a. 1700. Evelyn, Diary, 20 Nov. 1644. Descending the Mons Cælius we come against the vestiges of the Palazzo Maggiore.
1730. A. Gordon, Maffei’s Amphith., 297. We see the beginning of a Vault … with the Vestiges of the Stair upon it.
1791. W. Gilpin, Forest Scenery, II. 136. The vestiges of diferent buildings, and the walls of a small chapel, still remain.
1816. Sir H. Davy, in Faraday’s Exp. Res. (1859), 4. Vestiges of extinct volcanoes exist in all the low countries on the western side of the Appennines.
1847. Prescott, Peru, III. viii. I. 459. They had not been molested by enemies. But more than once they had seen vestiges of them in smoking hamlets and ruined bridges.
1864. D. G. Mitchell, Sev. Stor., 243. Others wandered thither, seeking vestiges of old inheritance.
sing. 1730. A. Gordon, Maffei’s Amphith., 240. Of these there is not the least Vestige remaining.
1743. Kames, Decis. Crt. Sess. 1730–52 (1799), 63. There was no remaining vestige of any moveable effects.
1756. C. Lucas, Ess. Waters, III. 370. No … vestige of the inflammable principle [will] appear.
1806. Med. Jrnl., XV. 98. Not the least vestige of a slough could be perceived.
1839. Yeowell, Anc. Brit. Ch., xii. 140. A vestige of some ancient fabric may be seen … near the church.
1886. Ruskin, Præterita, I. 28. There is now scarce vestige left of any building prior to the fifteenth century.
b. A surviving memorial or trace of some condition, quality, practice, etc., serving as an indication of its former existence. Usu. in pl.
a. 1700. Evelyn, Diary, 29 Jan. 1645. The once mighty Capua … shewing some vestige of its former magnificence in pieces of temples, arches [etc.].
1792. Burke, Corr. (1844), III. 378. That line of policy which government has pursued:… that, I mean, of wearing out the vestiges of conquest.
1805. Foster, Ess., I. iii. I. 35. The vestiges of the first indelible impression.
a. 1850. Calhoun, Wks. (1874), III. 282. These consolidation doctrines sweep away at a blow every vestige of State Rights.
1872. Yeats, Growth Comm., 197. A toll … drove away the last vestige of lawful traffic.
1875. Jowett, Plato (ed. 2), V. 71. Modern enquirers … have also detected … the vestiges of a patriarchal state still surviving.
c. Without of, in prec. senses.
1735. Thomson, Liberty, II. 404. Scarce any trace remaining, vestige grey, Or nodding column … To point where Corinth, or where Athens stood.
1789. Mrs. Piozzi, Journ. France, I. 127. A mode … that I think will … leave no vestiges behind.
1789. J. Williams, Min. Kingd., I. 32. A solid body of stone … which exhibits no manner of vestige or leader whatever to point out which way the coal is gone.
1814. Scott, Border Antiq., I. 1. This ancient baronial edifice is now in ruins,… and nothing scarcely remains but a few melancholy vestiges, which [etc.].
1830. G. A. Cooke, Topogr. Descr. Surrey, 68. Not a vestige is now standing, but the coloured bricks, stones, etc. … prove that the materials have not been entirely destroyed.
d. A very small or slight trace, indication or amount (of something); a particle, a scrap.
1756. C. Lucas, Ess. Waters, I. 111. If it contains the least vestige, the slightest taint,… precipitation follows.
1781. Cowper, Conversat., 219. On all the vestiges of truth attend, And let them guide you to a decent end.
1802. Playfair, Illustr. Huttonian Theory, 334. The mountain … appeared to me to be without any vestige of stratification.
1834. Pringle, Afr. Sk., ix. 298. Not a vestige of green pasturage was to be descried.
1884. Chr. Commonwealth, 12 June, 824/1. The general ruck and run of our politicians have scarcely a vestige of lofty motive or noble principle.
2. Biol. A surviving trace of some part formerly existing in the species; a vestigial organ or structure (see quot. 1886).
1859. Darwin, Orig. Species, xiii. (1860), 454. Rudimentary organs,… as … the vestige of an ear in earless breeds.
1868. Lyell, Princ. Geol. (ed. 10), III. xxxv. II. 274. The aquatic reptile called Proteus anguinus,… which retains only the vestiges or rudiments of eyes.
1886. J. A. Ryder, in Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 80. On investigating the condition of the vestiges of these limbs we find that the skeletal parts have actually been arrested. Ibid., note. Structures which are disappearing should be called vestiges.
II. 3. A mark or trace left on the ground by the foot; a footprint; a track. rare.
1656. Blount, Glossogr. (following Cooper), Vestige, the print of a mans foot, a footstep, a trace, or track, or mark of any thing.
1719. Boyer, Dict. Royal, I. Vestige, step, footstep, vestige.
1820. Shelley, Hymn Merc., xxxvii. Who with unwearied feet could e’er impress The sand with such enormous vestiges?
1841. Elphinstone, Hist. India, I. 363. In a dry country a bare foot leaves little print to common eyes; but one of these people … will pursue a robber by these vestiges for a distance that seems incredible.
fig. 1824. Landor, Imag. Conv., I. 8. A country where prophet comes after prophet, and each treads out the last vestige from the sand.
b. transf. An impression made upon the brain by an image. rare.
1885. J. Martineau, Types Eth. The., I. ii. § 2. Through the senses, external objects act upon the brain,… leaving a durable vestige there. Ibid., I. ii. § 8. An image of sense or fancy, persistent in proportion to the depth of the cerebral vestige.
