vestigial

adjective

ves·​ti·​gial ve-ˈsti-jē-əl 

-jəl

1

of a body part or organ : remaining in a form that is small or imperfectly developed and not able to function : being or having the form of a vestige (see vestige sense 2)

a vestigial tail

Kiwis lack an external tail, and their vestigial wings are entirely hidden beneath a curious plumage—shaggy, more like fur than feathers …

—Stephen Jay Gould

2

: remaining as the last small part of something that existed before

It's held in the Gold Room, a vestigial ballroom of the kind that every downtown hotel uses for banquets and conventions.

—William Zinsser

Later colonial laws … prohibited even speaking the Pequot language, now long dead but for a few vestigial words.

—Kirk Johnson

vestigially

ve-ˈsti-jē-ə-lē 

-jə-lē

adverb

Examples of vestigial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As a result, the auricular muscles became weaker and are now considered a vestigial feature—an evolutionary leftover that’s no longer necessary but hasn’t completely disappeared. —Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2025

Botos look very unusual compared with other dolphins, with incredibly long rostra—with vestigial hairs on them, tiny eyes and thick bodies. —Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2025

My generation's ability to remember phone numbers is a bit of a coccyx – the vestigial remainder of a structure no longer required. —New Atlas, 17 Feb. 2025

Humans have a vestigial ear muscle — one that perks up ears in animals — that shows electrical activity when people are trying hard to listen to something, according to a new study. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 4 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin vestigium + English -al entry 1

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

vestigial

adjective

ves·​tig·​ial ve-ˈstij-(ē-)əl 

: of, relating to, or being a vestige

a vestigial structure

vestigially

-ē 

adverb