Forms: see below. [ME. trays, a. OF. traiz, trais, pl. of trait (12th c. in Littré) action of drawing, rope or leather strap by which a draught-beast is harnessed; = It. tratto, L. tractus draught (u-stem), f. trahĕre to draw. In Eng. written also trayse, trayce, trace, and treated as collect. pl. and at length (c. 1400) as a sing. with a new pl. trasys, traces: cf. TRUCE.]
† 1. as pl. The pair of ropes, chains, or (now usually) leather straps by which the collar of a draught-animal is connected with the splinter-bar or swingletree. Obs.
Usually collective like tongs, scissors, shcars, pincers, etc.; but sometimes a numerical pl., as in quots. 1458, 1481.
4–5 trais, trays, 5 trayse, treyse, trayce, 5–8 trace, 6 treas, 7 tress, traige, traits, 9 dial. traice.
13[?]. Seuyn Sag. (W.) 1327. He let him drawe out of the pit … With trais an two stronge bors.
c. 1350. Nom. Gall … Angl. 834. Esteles, trays et valuere (glossedj Hamys, trays, taylerope.
c. 1365–6. Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees), 568. Pro ij paribrs de Trays et ij cartrapes: in trays, cartrapes, capistris, et reynes, xviijs.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 1283. With foure white boles in the trays.
1412–20. Lydg., Chron. Troy, I. 2209. Ryȝt as an hors out of þe traise at large.
1458. Nottingham Rec., II. 368. For treyse and oder ropes.
1480. Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV. (1830), 123. For v pair trays garnyssht.
1481–90. Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.), 150. Paid to Iohn Wygge, Ropper, for iij. thrays ij.s. ix.d.
1557. Lanc. & Chesh. Wills (1864), 61. iiij payre of treas.
c. 1611. Chapman, Iliad, XXIII. 412. His reins lost, or seat, or with the tress His chariot fail’d him.
1616. Surfl. & Markh., Country Farme, 16. Collars, Cart-saddles, Traits, thicke clothes, and other furniture for Horses. Ibid., 123. Be carefull that their traise, cart-saddles, collars, bridles, or other parts of their geares, and harnesse, be not torne.
1725. Pope, Odyss., IV. 861. Twelve young mules, a strong laborious race, New to the plough, unpractis’d in the trace.
1807. A. Young, Agric. Essex, I. 107. 5 pair of plough chain traice.
2. as sing. Each of the individual ropes or leather straps mentioned above; in pl. = sense 1.
α. sing. 5 trays, -e, trayce, trahys, 7 traise, tress, 9 traice, 6– trace.
14[?]. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 566/26. Attractorium, a trayne, sed melius, a trays. Ibid., 617/7. Tractorium, a trays.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 499/1. Trayce, horsys ha(r)neys, tenda.
c. 1475. Pict. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 811/33. Hoc retinaculum, a trayse.
1570. Levins, Manip., 6/44. A trace for drawing, traha, æ.
1794. W. Felton, Carriages (1801), II. x. 134. A square, bent ring is sewed in the end [of each trace], which, with the trace, forms a loop to bitch round the splinter-bar rolls.
β. pl. 5 tracez, traices, 5–6 trasys, -is, 6 trasseis, 6–7 tresses, 6– traces.
1404. Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees), 397. iiij trasys ij trysyns rapis. Ibid. (1405–6), 400. Rec. pro lez tracez del char.
1497. Naval Acc. Hen. VII. (1896), 95. iij chestes, Anfeld … j, Traices … cxx pair.
1523. Fitzherb., Husb., § 5. If he go with a hors ploughe, than muste he haue … his hombers or collers, holmes whyted, tresses, swyngletrees, and togwith.
1529. Act 21 Hen. VIII., c. 12 § 1. Thereof make Cables, Ropes, Halsers, Traces, Halters, and other Tackle.
1569. in Richmond Wills (Surtees), 218. vj pair trasis with girthes.
1577. B. Googe, Heresbach’s Husb., 11. The smaller sort be these … Traces.
1582. Shuttleworths’ Acc. (Chetham Soc.), 6. A pare of trasseis vjd.
1607. J. Carpenter, Plaine Mans Plough, 192. Thirdly, the foure Traces or Tresses.
1718. Pope, Iliad, V. 398. His panting steeds … He fix’d with straiten’d traces to the car.
1762. Wesley, Jrnl., 30 March. The horses pulled till the traces broke.
1841. Miss Mitford, in L’Estrange, Life (1870), III. viii. 117. About four miles from home one of the traces came undone.
3. fig. (from 1 and 2), esp. in phrases; cf. COLLAR sb. 8. † Out of trace, out of proper connection, out of order. Into the traces, into regular work. To kick over the traces: see KICK v.1 1 c.
c. 1518. Skelton, Magnyf., 914. All is out of harre And out of trace.
1824. W. Irving, T. Trav., I. 203. He was too fond of my genius to force it into the traces.
1843. Lytton, Last Bar., I. iii. Cut thy trace from the cloister, and take thy road to the shop.
4. † a. (?) The tug or end-piece of a bell-rope. Obs. b. Angling. A length of gimp or gut of varying fineness attached to the end of the reel line. c. Organ-building. In the draw-stop action, a rod that connects the draw-stop rod with the trundle, or the trundle with the lever moving the slider; also called trace-rod. d. Bot. The fibrovascular tissue of a stem, of which the leaf-trace is a continuation.
a. 1663. in Archæol. Æliana, XVII. 126. For two traces for ye bellroops 6d.
b. 1839. [see MINNOW 3].
1867. F. Francis, Angling, iv. (1880), 105. A tackle called a trace is used.
1883. Fisheries Exhib. Catal., 56. Flights and Traces, Floats for various kinds of fishing.
c. 1852. Seidel, Organ, 59. The upper end of the roller … is connected … with the end of a short pole called the trace.
1876–98. Stainer & Barrett, Dict. Mus. Terms, s.v. Organ, When the stop is pulled out, the arms aa draw the trace b from right to left.
1881. C. A. Edwards, Organs, 90. Another arm communicates with the trace by means of a mortise and pin.
d. 1875, 1877. [see leaf-trace, LEAF sb. 17].
1884. Bower & Scott, De Bary’s Phaner., 239. The median bundle of the trace … as it reaches the four bundles of the leaf-trace of the second node curves to one side, and unites with the lateral bundle of the next lower trace. Ibid., 257. Each leaf has three bundles of the trace, one median and two lateral.
5. attrib. and Comb.: trace-beaten a., (of a horse) marked by the beating or friction of the traces; trace-block, the splinter-bar or draught-bar; formerly called the fore-block or fore-bar; trace-boy, a trace-horse boy; trace-buckle, a large buckle by which the trace is attached to the tug (Knight, 1877); trace-bundle, Bot.: cf. 4 d above; trace-chain, (a) a trace of chain, a chain trace; † (b) a long chain by which a team is yoked to the plough; = TEAM sb. 9; trace-fastener, one of a pair of hooks or catches by which the traces are hitched to the draught-bar (Knight, 1877); trace-galled a., (of a horse) galled by the friction of the traces; trace-harness, harness of trace-horses; trace-high adv., to the level of the traces; trace-hook, one of the hooks on the draught-bar for attaching the traces (Knight, 1877); trace-horse, a horse that draws in traces, as distinct from a shaft-horse; attrib. trace-horse boy, a boy in charge of a trace-horse; trace-iron, one of the upright iron studs round which the traces are looped; trace-loop trace-ring; trace-mate: see quot.; trace-ring, an iron ring fastened to the end of the trace, by which it is attached to the trace-hook; trace-rod (Organ) = 4 c; trace-rope, a trace made of rope; trace-tug, a strap supporting the trace; † trace-wheel = PULLEY sb.1 2.
1687. Lond. Gaz., No. 2287/8. Stolen…, a brown Mare above 14 hands,… *Traise-beaten on her Ribs. Ibid. (1707), No. 4295/4. A brown Gelding…, trace beaten, most on the further Side.
1900. Daily News, 12 Nov., 3/4. The firemen … having attached drag ropes to the *trace blocks, proceeded to drag the carriage to Government House. Ibid. (1897), 31 March, 7/1. Daily wages … for *trace-boys 2s. 6d.
1884. Bower & Scott, De Bary’s Phaner., 293. The rapid longitudinal divisions of the bundle-ring always begin … in a young internode, in the position of the single, or of the median *trace-bundle going to the next leaf above.
1844. Stephens, Bk. Farm, I. 618. The horse is yoked to the swing-trees by light chains, called *trace-chains.
1896. Cosmopolitan, XX. 398/1. The jangling of trace-chains in the quiet, darkening air, as the workmen return from the fields to the barn.
1673. Lond. Gaz., No. 783/4. One Iron Grey Nag … a little *trace Galled.
1885. Wellington Weekly News, 15 Oct. (E. D. D.). Nine sets of breeching and *trace harness.
1899. Somerville & Ross, Irish R.M., ix. Horses that ranged from the cart mare, clipped *trace high, to shaggy and leggy three-year-olds.
1844. Stephens, Bk. Farm, III. 1087. In Forfarshire the *trace-horse is harnessed in a different manner.
1907. Nation, 19 Oct., 79/1. Awaiting the chance of a trace-horse to give our caravan a pull.
1902. Daily Chron., 1 July, 6/1. One of the horses attached to the fire engine was caught by the *trace-iron on the off side of the cattle-float.
1880. L. Wallace, Ben-Hur, 208. They termed the two [horses] next the pole yoke-steeds, and those on the right and left outside *trace-mates.
1794. W. Felton, Carriages (1801), II. x. § 2. 144. The *Trace-Rings are iron square loops sewed in the ends of the traces, a part of which they receive, and loops round the splinter-bar.
1880. E. J. Hopkins, in Grove, Dict. Mus. (1880), II. 606/1. A *trace-rod, which spans the distance from the trundle to the end of the soundboard…. The trundle partly revolves and moves the trace-rod.
1900. Daily News, 24 Feb., 6/3. The struggling, terrified horses inextricably mixed the *trace ropes, and the position looked serious.
1794. W. Felton, Carriages (1801), II. x. § 1. 135. The *trace-tugs are loops for the trace to run through and hang by.
1519. Horman, Vulg., 241 b. There must be made a *trace whele [tympanum] to wynd vp stone.
