Foraying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Making a short and purposeful journey into an unknown area for discovery
2. Undertaking a swift and deliberate trip into unfamiliar territory to explore or gain knowledge
3. Engaging in a short venture beyond one's usual boundaries to uncover or try something new

Etymology: The verb "forage" and the noun "foray" share a root, but "foray" has the more dramatic history. Its ancestor meant the grain, straw or fodder a raiding party took from the land, not the raid itself. In Old French, the "fourrier" was the officer who went ahead to find provisions for an army, and his name later came to describe the grabbing of those supplies. Middle English turned this into "forrayen," meaning to pillage, and the noun "foray" was then back-formed from it. The source of all this is a Germanic word for fodder, *fōdar, which also gave German "Futter" and English "fodder." Its meaning spread into a sense of covering or case as well, which is why "fōþer" in Old English could also mean a sheath or basket. The modern sense of a quick trip into unfamiliar territory is a softened version of the original violence, as the sense of raiding gave way to exploration and experiment.

Synonyms: raiding, incursion, expedition, venture, exploration