The trace that a person or an animal leaves when walking is called a footprint.
Establishing the etymological origin of the term footprint that we are now going to analyze leads us to go to Latin. So there we discovered that it comes from the verb to trample , which can be translated as "to step on, leaving a mark on the ground."
A footprint is a mark or sign left by the foot of man or animal on the ground where it passes. For example: "These footprints allow us to infer that the animal that attacked the children is a large quadruped," "It passed by here a few minutes ago, its footprints are still in the wet sand."
The footprint as a physical or symbolic trace
By extension of this meaning, a trace or vestige that is left by someone or something is known as a trace: "The storm has left traces on the facades of the house" , "An explosion that generated a trace throughout the neighborhood" .
In the same way we cannot ignore that footprint is also used with a similar but much more sentimental and profound meaning. Thus, we find that a footprint is a very forceful impression that someone or something has left on another person. A clear example of this meaning can be the following: "Manuel left a deep mark on Isabel's heart."
In a similar sense, a trace is an indication or allusion ( “It is not possible to find any trace of his depression in his last letters” ) and a deep impression ( “Borges has left an indelible mark on Argentine literature” ).
The fingerprint or fingerprint is the mark that the tip of a finger produces on the surface of an object.
The mark of the fingertip
The fingerprint or fingerprint is the mark left by the tip of the finger on an object when touched. Therefore, it is possible to obtain fingerprints on purpose, by impregnating the finger with a coloring matter. Fingerprints are used to identify people.
These types of fingerprints become fundamental clues in any investigation that the police carry out to try to find the perpetrator of a robbery or crime, among other crimes. Thus, when the scientific police go to the scene of a murder, for example, one of the tasks they perform is to carry out the analysis to try to find some type of trace that leads directly to the criminal.
Movie "The Footprint"
It must precisely be emphasized that there is a very important film within the field of suspense and intrigue entitled "The Trace" . In 1975, filmmaker Joseph L. Mankiewicz presented this production, which stars Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier.
In it we are told how two men who have in common been partners of the same woman invent a plan, specifically a robbery, to get money that they both need. However, that one will not turn out as expected.
The concept in ecology and as a path
The ecological footprint , on the other hand, is the indicator that expresses the area of ecologically productive territory that is needed to produce the resources used and to assimilate the waste produced by a population . It is an indicator that allows measuring the impact of a way of life on the planet .
In several Latin American countries, finally, the path made involuntarily by the passage of vehicles, animals or people is called a footprint: "A footprint leaves the river that will take you to the ranch."