savanna

Where does the word "savanna" come from? It comes from Taino zabana, passing through Spanish before entering English (1550s).

Savanna’s story begins in Taino: zabana meant “a flat, grassy plain.” Named a treeless, grassy plain. By 1530s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as sabana. Oviedo recorded 'zavana' in the 1530s. It reached English by 1550s as savanna. Anglicized from Spanish descriptions of New World landscapes. Today, savanna means a flat grassland ecosystem with scattered trees, found in tropical and subtropical regions.

1. Stage 1 · Taino · pre-1500s zabana "a flat, grassy plain", named a treeless, grassy plain.
2. Stage 2 · Spanish · 1530s sabana "a flat, treeless grassland", Oviedo recorded 'zavana' in the 1530s.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1550s savanna "a flat grassland with scattered trees, typically in tropical regions", anglicized from Spanish descriptions of New World landscapes.