DictionaryRoot: trahere
Latin
trahere
draw, pull, drag
Forms
- trah-
- tract- — Latin stem of the form meaning ‘drawn’ or ‘pulled.’
- -trait — Developed through French in some borrowings.
Origin
Traditionally connected with reconstructed Indo-European *tragh-, ‘draw; pull’; the deeper connection is disputed.
Note
Pulling together and pulling apart supplied metaphors for agreements and abstractions.
34 / 38
noun
tract
TRAKT/trækt/
An extended continuous region.
Etymology
From “to draw,” Latin developed the image of a space drawn out—a stretch or course. That connects a tract of land with a bodily region or passage serving a particular function.
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