Definition

Verb: - To trace back to the origin/source: To investigate or follow something to its very beginning, root cause, or original point. - To ascertain the cause: To determine the fundamental reason or primary factor behind an event or situation.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Các nhà khoa học đang cố gắng truy nguyên nguồn lây bệnh. (Scientists are trying to trace the outbreak back to its source.)
  • Phải truy nguyên thì mới tìm ra lỗi hệ thống. (We must trace back to the origin to find the system error.)
  • Truy nguyên ra, sự cố bắt nguồn từ một linh kiện nhỏ. (Traced back to its origin, the malfunction stemmed from a small component.)

Advanced Usage

• Used often in formal, academic, investigative, or technical contexts (e.g., history, medicine, law, engineering) to describe a methodical search for a root cause.
• Implies a process of deduction or research that moves backward in time or logic from an effect to its initial cause.

Variants and Related Words

• Truy tìm nguyên nhân (verb phrase): To search for/find the cause. A more common, less formal synonym for the investigative aspect.
• Truy cứu (verb): To investigate to assign responsibility, often with a legal or accusatory tone (e.g., to investigate for blame).

Synonyms

• To trace back to: To find the origin by following a path of evidence.
• To pinpoint the origin: To identify the exact starting point.
• To ascertain the root cause: To discover the fundamental reason.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Truy nguyên bản: While not a direct idiom, this phrase can appear in scholarly contexts meaning "to trace back to the original version/text."
• The word itself often functions within the common phrase "truy nguyên nhân" (to trace the cause), which is essentially its core meaning.

verb

1. to trace back to