Other forms: expeditions
An expedition is an organised journey with a serious purpose — to a pole, a peak or a jungle. A polar expedition, mount an expedition, the expedition failed.
It implies planning, equipment and a goal, which is what separates it from a trip. Scientific expeditions, mountaineering expeditions and military expeditions all use the word. It is also used lightly for any outing that turns into an operation: a shopping expedition. Note expeditionary force, a military term; and expeditious, which means prompt and comes from the same root.
1nounexpeditionAn organised journey with a serious purpose.
“The expedition set off to find the source of the river.”
2nountreatedAn outing treated as an operation.
“A shopping expedition with all four children takes planning.”
expedition is an organised journey.
Latin expeditio comes from expedire, to free the feet — ex- plus pes, a foot. To expedite something is to get it unstuck, and an expedition was originally an army setting out unencumbered.
Proto-Indo-European
*ped-
Latin
expeditio
Middle French
expédition
English, today
expedition
From Middle French expédition, and its source, Latin expeditio.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Travel & Transport