A Track Is a Path, a Recording and a Vehicle's Belt
A track is a mark left by movement, or a path. The word spread to sport, music and machinery.
A track is a mark or series of marks left by movement, and a path or course. Music borrowed it from magnetic tape, where each recorded strip ran as a physical track along the ribbon — which is why a song is still a *track* and a recording session is *tracking*, long after tape disappeared. A tank's *tracks* are the continuous belts it runs on, and *tracking* someone means following the marks they leave, the original sense.
- A path. *A forest track.*
- A song. *The next track.*
- A railway line. *The train left the track.*
- A vehicle's belt. *Tank tracks.*
- Middle Dutch — *trak*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | track | A track. |
| Plural | tracks | Tracks. |
| Verb | track | Track it. |
| Noun | tracking | Tracking. |
| Dutch | trak | A track. |
- Deer tracks crossed the snow.Marks.
- Skip to the next track.Music.
- The tank's tracks gripped the mud.Machinery.
Track phrases
- Off the beaten track — away from familiar routes
- On the right track — heading in the correct direction
- Lose track — fail to keep count or contact
- Track record — a history of past performance
- One-track mind — able to think about only one thing
Old French *trac*, a track or trace, probably from Middle Dutch *trak*, from *trekken*, to pull or march.
Why is a song called a track?
From magnetic tape, where each recorded strip ran as a physical track along the ribbon. The word outlived the technology.
What does track record mean?
A history of past performance, from athletics, where records were set on a track.