Savannas
/səˈvæn.əz/noun
Open grassland with scattered trees, especially in tropical or subtropical regions.
Did you know?English got *savanna* through Spanish from a Taíno word recorded in the Caribbean, showing how Indigenous American languages reshaped the vocabulary of exploration and empire.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian Caribbean
Taíno
zabana
“open treeless plain or grassy area”
16th Century
Spanish
sabana
“plain, grassland; later also 'sheet' by sound shift and semantic overlap”
17th-18th Century
French/English
savane
“tropical grassy plain”
18th Century
English
savanna
“tropical grassland with scattered trees”
Modern English
English
savannas
“plural of savanna: tropical or subtropical grasslands with scattered trees”