Safari

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /səˈfɑːɹ.i/

Definitions

1. An expedition or journey, typically for observing wildlife in their natural habitat, especially in eastern or southern Africa
2. A journey undertaken primarily to observe and photograph wild animals in their natural environment, particularly across African landscapes
3. An organized excursion into wilderness areas, especially African regions, devoted to encountering and studying fauna in undomesticated settings

Etymology: The word "safari" arrived in English from Swahili, where "safari" means "journey," and it traces back to the Arabic "safar," meaning "travel" or "journey." Arabic speakers carried the root across East Africa through trade, and Swahili, the lingua franca of the coast and interior, absorbed it as a general word for any expedition, whether a caravan, a hunt, or a long trek. English speakers borrowed the word in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when European travellers and hunters explored and hunted across East Africa. Its meaning narrowed in English to a hunting expedition, and then, as hunting gave way to watching, to a trip made to observe wild animals. The journey itself, the sense the Swahili word carried, remains at the heart of the English term.

Synonyms: expedition, journey, trip, tour, excursion

Antonyms: stagnation, inactivity, idleness, rest, repose