A Tract Is an Area of Land and a Short Pamphlet
A tract is a stretch of land or a body system. It is also a short religious pamphlet, from a different sense of the same word.
A tract is a large area of land, a system of connected organs, or a short pamphlet on a religious or political subject. The land and body senses come from Latin *tractus*, a drawing out or extent — a tract of forest is drawn out across the ground, and the digestive tract is drawn out through the body. The pamphlet comes from *tractatus*, a treatise, from *tractare*, to handle a subject. The Oxford Movement of the 1830s produced the *Tracts for the Times*, whose authors became known as Tractarians.
- An area of land. *A tract of forest.*
- A body system. *The digestive tract.*
- A pamphlet. *A religious tract.*
- Tractarian — of the Oxford Movement. *Tractarians.*
- Latin — *tractus*, an extent. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tract | A tract. |
| Plural | tracts | Tracts. |
| Related | treatise | A treatise. |
| Related | tractate | A tractate. |
| Latin | tractus | An extent. |
- A vast tract of moorland.Land.
- Infection of the urinary tract.Anatomy.
- He handed out religious tracts.Pamphlet.
Tracts in the body
- Digestive tract — mouth to anus
- Respiratory tract — nose to lungs
- Urinary tract — kidneys to urethra
- Optic tract — nerve fibres from the eyes
- All named for being drawn out in a connected line
Latin *tractus*, a drawing out or extent, from *trahere*, to draw. The pamphlet sense is from *tractatus*, a treatise.
Why is a pamphlet called a tract?
From Latin tractatus, a treatise, meaning a handling of a subject. It is a different sense from the land and body meanings.
Who were the Tractarians?
Members of the Oxford Movement in the 1830s, named for their series of pamphlets, the Tracts for the Times.