tract

C1 Topic:Places & Geography

US /tɹækt/ See IPA manual

Freq #19428

Meanings

1

noun
A large area of land.

They drove for hours across vast tracts of empty desert.
2

noun
A system of connected organs or tissues in the body that carry out a function.

Fibre is good for the digestive tract.
3

noun
A short piece of writing on a subject, especially a religious or political one.

He wrote a tract arguing against the new tax law.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms tracts

Derived forms tractarian

Related forms abstract attract contract detract distract extract protract retract subtract tractable tractatetractile

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

pyramidal tract
a pathway carrying motor signals from the cerebral cortex toward the brainstem and spinal cord

Adjective + noun
respiratory tract
the passages that carry air into and out of the body

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Tract dates from late Middle English and belongs to the same word family as treat, treatise, and treaty. This family is associated with Old French traitier and ultimately Latin tractare, “to handle.”

Etymology

From Middle English tract, tracte, traht (“a treatise, exposition, commentary”), from Old English traht, tract (“a treatise, exposition, commentary, text, passage”); and also from Middle English tract, tracte (“an expanse of space or time”); both from Latin tractus (“a haul, drawing, a drawing out”), the perfect passive participle of trahō. Doublet of trait.

tract Middle English traht Old English tractus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# tract

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /tɹækt/
**Frequency rank:** 19428

## Meanings
1. A large area of land.
2. A system of connected organs or tissues in the body that carry out a function.
3. A short piece of writing on a subject, especially a religious or political one.

## Examples
- They drove for hours across vast tracts of empty desert.
- Fibre is good for the digestive tract.
- He wrote a tract arguing against the new tax law.

## Derived Forms
- tractarian

## Related Forms
- abstract
- attract
- contract
- detract
- distract
- extract
- protract
- retract
- subtract
- tractable
- tractate
- tractile

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tract
- Root: traht
- Root: tractus

## Etymology
From Middle English tract, tracte, traht (“a treatise, exposition, commentary”), from Old English traht, tract (“a treatise, exposition, commentary, text, passage”); and also from Middle English tract, tracte (“an expanse of space or time”); both from Latin tractus (“a haul, drawing, a drawing out”), the perfect passive participle of trahō. Doublet of trait.

## AI Etymology
Tract is from Middle English tract, tracte, traht (“a treatise, exposition, commentary”), from Old English traht, tract (“a treatise, exposition, commentary, text, passage”); and also from Middle English tract, tracte (“an expanse of space or time”); both from Latin tractus (“a haul, drawing, a drawing out”), the perfect passive participle of trahō. Doublet of trait. In present-day use, it can mean a large area of land, or a system of connected organs or tissues in the body that carry out a function. Derived formations include tractarian.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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