Other forms: excursions
An excursion is a short organised trip made for pleasure, returning the same day. A day excursion, book an excursion, an excursion to the coast.
It is arranged rather than spontaneous, and excursion is the word used by tour operators and railways — an excursion fare is a cheap return for a day trip. Figuratively, an excursion is a brief departure into another subject: an excursion into economics. Note outing and day trip, which are the everyday equivalents; and that excursion sounds slightly formal and faintly Edwardian.
1nounexcursionA short organised trip made for pleasure.
“On the third day of the holiday, we went on an excursion to a nearby island.”
synonyms: outing, day trip
2nounbriefA brief departure into another subject.
“The novel stops for a strange excursion into the history of whaling before the story goes on.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
excursion is a short trip.
Also accepted in games: outing, day trip
Latin excursio means a running out, from excurrere — ex- plus currere, to run. It meant a military raid before it meant a day at the seaside, which is a considerable softening.
Proto-Indo-European
*ḱers-
Latin
excursiō — a running out, an inroad, invasion, a setting out, beginning of a speech
English, today
excursion
Built from
Borrowed from Latin excursiō (“a running out, an inroad, invasion, a setting out, beginning of a speech”), from excurrere (“to run out”), from ex (“out”) + currere (“to run”). by surface analysis, excurse + -ion. Compare excursus.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA