'vestige' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'vestigium', where 'vestig-' meant 'footstep, trace'.

'vestige' changed from the Latin word 'vestigium' into Old French 'vestige' and was borrowed into Middle English as 'vestige', eventually becoming the modern English word 'vestige'.

Initially, it meant 'footstep' or literal 'track', but over time it evolved into the broader sense of 'a trace or remnant' and the figurative 'slight indication'.