A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2002 (DOST Vol. XI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1590, 1670-1696
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Tract, v. [e.m.E. tract (1523), L. tract-.] tr. To track, to trace; to follow the progress of. (Cf. Trace v.) — c1590 Fowler I 107/83.
So he did mak the sun to stay his foes to tract and trace 1670 Argyll Justic. Rec. I 9.
The said Donald haveing tracted the said kow he found the samen wpon the saids lands of Downmoir 1679 J. Somerville Mem. II 127.
I shall tract him from the cradle to the grave 1696 Argyll Justic. Rec. I 157.
He was taken redd hand … be Charles Campbell … and other his assistants who followed and tracted them all the way
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"Tract v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/tract_v>
