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Tract vs Trailer - What's the difference?

tract | trailer |

As nouns the difference between tract and trailer

is that tract is an area or expanse while trailer is trailer (vehicle).

As a verb tract

is (obsolete) to pursue, follow; to track.

tract

English

Etymology 1

From tractus, the perfect passive participle of (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • An area or expanse.
    • an unexplored tract of sea
  • * Milton
    • the deep tract of hell
  • * Addison
    • a very high mountain joined to the mainland by a narrow tract of earth
  • A series of connected body organs, as in the digestive tract .
  • A small booklet such as a pamphlet, often for promotional or informational uses.
  • A brief treatise or discourse on a subject.
  • * Jonathan Swift
    • The church clergy at that writ the best collection of tracts against popery that ever appeared.
  • A commentator's view or perspective on a subject.
  • Continued or protracted duration, length, extent
  • * Milton
    • improved by tract of time
  • * 1843 ,
    • Nay, in another case of litigation, the unjust Standard bearer, for his own profit, asserting that the cause belonged not to St. Edmund’s Court, but to his in , involved us in travellings and innumerable expenses, vexing the servants of St. Edmund for a long tract of time
  • Part of the proper of the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations, used instead of the alleluia during Lenten or pre-Lenten seasons, in a Requiem Mass, and on a few other penitential occasions.
  • (obsolete) Continuity or extension of anything.
    • the tract of speech
    (Older)
  • (obsolete) Traits; features; lineaments.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • The discovery of a man's self by the tracts of his countenance is a great weakness.
  • (obsolete) The footprint of a wild animal.
    • (Dryden)
  • (obsolete) Track; trace.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
    • Efface all tract of its traduction.
  • * Shakespeare
    • But flies an eagle flight, bold, and forth on, / Leaving no tract behind.
  • (obsolete) Treatment; exposition.
    • (Shakespeare)
    Related terms
    * tractate noun

    Etymology 2

    From tractus , the participle stem of (etyl) trahere.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To pursue, follow; to track.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , II.i:
    • Where may that treachour then (said he) be found, / Or by what meanes may I his footing tract ?
  • (obsolete) To draw out; to protract.
    • (Ben Jonson)
    English syncopic forms ----

    trailer

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Someone who or something that trails.
  • Part of an object which extends some distance beyond the main body of the object.
    • the trailer of a plant
  • An unpowered wheeled vehicle, not a caravan or camper, that is towed behind another, and used to carry equipment, etc, that cannot be carried in the leading vehicle.
    • At the end of the day, we put the snowmobiles back on the trailer .
  • * 1980' April, Greg Stone, ''Utility hauling? Do it with your boat '''trailer'' , '' , page 104,
    • My trailer' is a Highlander T-14 8G, one of the smallest ' trailers . I normally use it for carrying a pair of Sunfish sailboats that are much lighter than its 800-pound weight limit.
  • * 2004', Mike Byrnes & Associates, ''Bumper to Bumper: The Complete Guide to Tractor-'''Trailer Operations , page 310,
    • Or you can slide the trailer'?s tandem forward toward the tractor. This changes the kingpin weight because you changed the “A” dimension of the ' trailer along with its wheel-base.
  • * 2009 , Norman Edward Robinson, Kim A. Sprayberry, Current Therapy in Equine Medicine , page 122,
    • There is also a strong preference to avoid the cave effect associated with the front of most horse trailers' and a strong desire to face the large opening between the top of the rear doors and the roof of the ' trailer .
  • (US) A furnished vehicle towed behind another, and used as a dwelling when stationary; a caravan; a camper.
    • We drove our trailer to Yellowstone Park.
  • (US) A prefabricated home that could be towed to a new destination, but typically is permanently left in an area designated for such homes.
    • The young couple?s first home was in a trailer.
  • (chiefly, US, media) A preview of a film, video game or TV show.
    • The trailer for that movie makes it seem like it would be fun.
  • A short blank segment of film at the end of a reel, for convenient insertion of the film in a projector.
  • (computing) The final record of a list of data items, often identified by a key field with an otherwise invalid value that sorts last alphabetically (e.g., “ZZZZZ”) or numerically (“99999”); especially common in the context of punched cards, where the final card is called a trailer card .
    • ''The linked list terminates with a trailer record.
  • (networking) The last part of a packet, often containing a check sequence.
    • The encapsulation layer adds an eight-byte header and a two-byte trailer to each packet.

    Usage notes

    * In Australia and the UK, use of trailer in the sense of “preview of a film” is gaining currency over the synonym preview, due to US influence.

    Synonyms

    * * camper (US), camper van, caravan (UK), mobile home * (prefabricated home that could be towed but typically is not) mobile home * (preview of a film) preview, teaser * sentinel

    Antonyms

    * header

    Derived terms

    * horse trailer * tractor-trailer * trailer card (computing) * trailer park * trailer sailer * trailer tent * trailer trash

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To load on a trailer or to transport by trailer.
    • The engine wouldn't run any more so we had to trailer my old car to the wrecking yard.

    Anagrams

    * ----