Safari
Discover the surprising origin of the word 'Safari'
You use the word safari all the time -- but you've probably never thought about the fact that it's basically someone else's word for "journey" that we've completely stolen and repurposed. And not even from where you think.
Most people imagine safari comes straight from Swahili -- some exotic African language where it means "wild adventure with lions." Close enough, right?
Not quite. The real story starts further back. Safari does come from Swahili, yes, but the Swahili word itself is borrowed -- from Arabic. The original form is *safar*, which simply means "journey" or "travel." The Arabs used it for centuries before European explorers ever showed up in East Africa. When Portuguese traders arrived in the 1500s and British colonizers followed later, they encountered Swahili-speaking people using *safari* for expeditions inland. The British heard it, loved it, and by the 1800s they'd branded it as *the* word for their hunting trips through the African bush. One of the earliest documented uses in English appears in explorer Henry Morton Stanley's accounts from the 1870s.
So safari went from Arabic journey-word, to Swahili travel-term, to English adventure-fantasy -- each language group adding their own glamour to it.
Today we slap safari on everything: safari parks, safaris hats, even your web browser's name. We've drained it of its simple meaning and filled it with romance and danger. The word has become pure *idea* now -- pure escape.
Safari is your word of the day. This is The Why of Words.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the origin of the word Safari?
- Safari originates from Arabic *safar*, meaning "journey" or "travel," which was borrowed into Swahili before being adopted into English by British colonizers and explorers in the 1800s.
- Why is it called Safari?
- The word became associated with hunting and expedition trips through African bush because British explorers encountered Swahili-speaking people using *safari* for inland expeditions and adopted the term for their own adventures.
- Where does the word Safari come from?
- Safari comes from Arabic *safar*, passed through Swahili in East Africa, and entered English usage by the 1870s, with one of the earliest documented uses appearing in explorer Henry Morton Stanley's accounts.
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