Trail
/treɪl/noun
A path or track left by something moving, or to pull something along behind.
Did you know?Trail comes through Old French from a verb meaning to drag or pull, and its earliest sense was the thing left behind by something being hauled along.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*trag-
“to draw, pull, drag”
Latin
Latin
trahere
“to pull, draw, drag”
Old French
Old French
trailler
“to trail, drag, pull along”
Middle English
English
trailen
“to drag, draw along; leave a trace behind”
Modern English
English
trail
“a mark or path left by something moving; to drag behind; to follow behind”