Based on context clues, which meaning of the word trace is most likely used in this sentence?
Members of the McDonald family were able to trace their ancestry to
the 12th century in Scotland.
A. (verb) 2. To study by going back over a progression step-by-step
B. (noun) 1. A remnant of something that has passed
C. (verb) 1. To draw by following the outline of a shape
D. (noun) 2. A very small amount of something

The meaning of the word "trace" in the sentence is:

A. (verb) 2. To study by going back over a progression step-by-step.

Explanation:

Since the word "trace" as used in the sentence is a verb, we can already eliminate options B and D. The sentence does not talk about the action of drawing something by following an outline of a shape. Instead, it talks of being able to find out information by going back, a step at a time. That is what we do when we study our ancestry. We go further and further back, finding members of our family that are more and more distant from us. Having that in mind, we can easily choose letter A as the best option:

A. (verb) 2. To study by going back over a progression step-by-step.

what are your options?

hi there!

one thousand and one nights, also called the arabian nights is a collection of middle eastern tales compiled in arabic during the islamic golden age, dated from the 8th to the 14th century. this collection was compiled of largely middle eastern and indian stories with an uncertain date and autorship whose tales such as aladdin, ali baba and sinbad the sailor -these ones were the most popular ones, the ones that have almost become part of western folklore.

as in much medieval european literature, the stories contained in this collection are set within a frame story. its scene is central asia, as known as "the islands or peninsulae of india and china", where king shahryar kills his wife after discovering her infidelities and as well as any other who betrayed him.   then, loathing all womankind, he marries and kills his new wife each day until no more candidates could have been found. his vizier had two daughters, scheherezade and dunyazad. the elder one -scheherezade- having devised a scheme to save herself and the others insisted that her father needed to give her in marriage to the king. each evening, she used to tell a story leaving it incomplete and promising to finish it the following night. the stories kept the king very interested, so eager to hear evey ending of each story, that he puts off her execution from day to day and finally he decided to give up with his plan. these stories are contained within the collection of 1001 nights, the bulk of the text is in prose, although verse is usually used for songs and riddles to express better the heightened emotion of them.