- track (n.)
- 1470, "footprint, mark left by anything," from O.Fr. trac "track of horses, trace" (1440), possibly from a Gmc. source (cf. M.L.G. treck, Du. trek "drawing, pulling;" see trek). Meaning "lines of rails for drawing trains" is from 1805. Meaning "branch of athletics involving a running track" is recorded from 1905. Meaning "single recorded item" is from 1904, originally in ref. to phonograph records. Meaning "mark on skin from repeated drug injection" is first attested 1964. The verb meaning "to follow or trace the footsteps of" is recorded 1565, from the noun. Track record (1965) is a figurative use from horse racing. To make tracks "move quickly" is Amer.Eng. colloquial first recorded 1835; to cover (one's) tracks in the fig. sense first attested 1898; to keep track of something is attested from 1883. The metaphor in Amer.Eng. wrong side of the tracks "bad part of town" has been traced back to 1929. Track lighting attested from 1972.