The meaning of the word travel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip.^[1] Travel can also include relatively short stays between successive movements, as in the case of tourism.

Etymology

The origin of the word «travel» is most likely lost to history. The term «travel» may originate from the Old French word travail, which means ‘work’.^[2] According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first known use of the word travel was in the 14th century. It also states that the word comes from Middle English travailen, travelen (which means to torment, labor, strive, journey) and earlier from Old French travailler (which means to work strenuously, toil).

In English, people still occasionally use the words travail, which means struggle. According to Simon Winchester in his book The Best Travelers’ Tales (2004), the words travel and travail both share an even more ancient root: a Roman instrument of torture called the tripalium (in Latin it means «three stakes», as in to impale).^{[citation needed]} This link may reflect the extreme difficulty of travel in ancient times. Travel in modern times may or may not be much easier, depending upon the destination. Travel to Mount Everest, the Amazon rainforest, extreme tourism, and adventure travel are more difficult forms of travel. Travel can also be more difficult depending on the method of travel, such as by bus, cruise ship, or even by bullock cart.^[3]

Purpose and motivation

Reasons for traveling include recreation,^[4] holidays, rejuvenation,^[5] tourism^[4] or vacationing,^[4] research travel,^[4] the gathering of information, visiting people, volunteer travel for charity, migration to begin life somewhere else, religious pilgrimages^[4] and mission trips, business travel,^[4] trade,^[4] commuting, obtaining health care,^[4] waging or fleeing war, for the enjoyment of traveling, or other reasons. Travelers may use human-powered transport such as walking or bicycling; or vehicles, such as public transport, automobiles, trains, ferries, boats, cruise ships and airplanes.

Motives for travel include:

• Pleasure^[6]
• Relaxation
• Discovery and exploration^[4]
• Adventure
• Intercultural communications^[4]
• Taking personal time for building interpersonal relationships.
• Avoiding stress^[7]
• Forming memories^[7]

History

Travel dates back to antiquity where wealthy Greeks and Romans would travel for leisure to their summer homes and villas in cities such as Pompeii and Baiae.^[8] While early travel tended to be slower, more dangerous, and more dominated by trade and migration, cultural and technological advances over many years have tended to mean that travel has become easier and more accessible.^[9] Humankind has come a long way in transportation since Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World from Spain in 1492, an expedition which took over 10 weeks to arrive at the final destination; to the 21st century when aircraft allows travel from Spain to the United States overnight.

Travel in the Middle Ages offered hardships and challenges, though it was important to the economy and to society. The wholesale sector depended (for example) on merchants dealing with/through caravans or sea-voyagers, end-user retailing often demanded the services of many itinerant peddlers wandering from village to hamlet, gyrovagues (wandering monks) and wandering friars brought theology and pastoral support to neglected areas, traveling minstrels toured, and armies ranged far and wide in various crusades and in sundry other wars.^[8] Pilgrimages were common in both the European and Islamic world and involved streams of travelers both locally and internationally.^[10]

In the late 16th century, it became fashionable for young European aristocrats and wealthy upper-class men to travel to significant European cities as part of their education in the arts and literature. This was known as the Grand Tour, and included cities such as London, Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome. However, the French Revolution brought with it the end of the Grand Tour.^[8]

Travel by water often provided more comfort and speed than land-travel, at least until the advent of a network of railways in the 19th century. Travel for the purpose of tourism is reported to have started around this time when people began to travel for fun as travel was no longer a hard and challenging task. This was capitalized on by people like Thomas Cook selling tourism packages where trains and hotels were booked together.^[11] Airships and airplanes took over much of the role of long-distance surface travel in the 20th century, notably after the Second World War where there was a surplus of both aircraft and pilots.^[8] Air travel has become so ubiquitous in the 21st century that one woman, Alexis Alford, visited all 196 countries before the age of 21.^[12]

Geographic types

Travel may be local, regional, national (domestic) or international. In some countries, non-local internal travel may require an internal passport, while international travel typically requires a passport and visa. Tours are a common type of travel. Examples of travel tours are expedition cruises,^[13] small group tours,^[14] and river cruises.^[15]

Safety

Authorities emphasize the importance of taking precautions to ensure travel safety.^[16] When traveling abroad, the odds favor a safe and incident-free trip, however, travelers can be subject to difficulties, crime and violence.^[17] Some safety considerations include being aware of one’s surroundings,^[16] avoiding being the target of a crime,^[16] leaving copies of one’s passport and itinerary information with trusted people,^[16] obtaining medical insurance valid in the country being visited^[16] and registering with one’s national embassy when arriving in a foreign country.^[16] Many countries do not recognize drivers’ licenses from other countries; however most countries accept international driving permits.^[18] Automobile insurance policies issued in one’s own country are often invalid in foreign countries, and it is often a requirement to obtain temporary auto insurance valid in the country being visited.^[18] It is also advisable to become oriented with the driving rules and regulations of destination countries.^[18] Wearing a seat belt is highly advisable for safety reasons; many countries have penalties for violating seatbelt laws.^[18]

There are three main statistics which may be used to compare the safety of various forms of travel (based on a Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions survey in October 2000):^[19]

Mode	Deaths per billion
Journeys	Hours	Kilometers
Bus	4.3	11.1	0.4
Rail	20	30	0.6
Air	117	30.8	0.05
Ship	90	50	2.6
Van	20	60	1.2
Car	40	130	3.1
Walking	40	220	54
Bicycle	170	550	45
Motorcycle	1640	4840	109

See also

References

External links

• Travel at Curlie

Recent Examples on the Web

There were 1,049 such instances in 2022 out of roughly 535 million miles traveled.


—Ellen Francis, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2023




As part of this new public effort, Newsom plans to travel with his family on a listening tour through red states this weekend and early next week, his spokesperson Nathan Click said.


—Sophia Bollag, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2023




The Sundance favorite uses archival material to travel back to 1970’s San Francisco and tell the story of Chol Soo Lee, a Korean immigrant who was wrongfully convicted of murder, and the Asian American activist movement that sought to free him.


—Sophia Scorziello, Variety, 30 Mar. 2023




As the Earth travels around the sun over the course of a year, one hemisphere is closer to the sun while the other is farther away from it, the National Weather Service notes.


—Eleanor Mccrary, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2023




The address of his business was his mother’s home in Boynton Beach rather than an office, the affidavit said, and records showed Howard used the money to travel and bought jewelry, groceries and meals.


—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2023




While nationwide protests forced French President Emmanuel Macron to reschedule the royal visit to Paris and Bordeaux for a later date, the British royals were able to travel to Germany as planned.


—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2023




The family had to travel from San Luis to Villagarzón, stay overnight and then take a six-hour bus ride to Pasto early the next morning.


—Jeneen Interlandi, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023




Initially, they were supposed to travel to France first, but postponed their visit due to ongoing protests and strikes in the country.


—Town & Country, 29 Mar. 2023

Other brands are undertaking similar efforts; Chanel staged a show in Dakar in December, for example, and a number of houses are using the travel-heavy resort season to put on shows in Asia.


—Rachel Tashjian, Harper’s BAZAAR, 31 Mar. 2023




Air travel can make up a large part of a frequent traveler’s individual contribution to climate change.


—Treehugger Editors, Treehugger, 31 Mar. 2023




Who said time travel was impossible?


—Country Living, 31 Mar. 2023




Make sure all your travel-sized liquids fit in one quart-sized bag.


—Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 30 Mar. 2023




But its newest selection of Aloha shirts is elevated, to boot, in patterns that feel elegant and aren’t overwhelming, crafted in performance materials that are silky, cooling, moisture-wicking, quick-drying, and travel-ready.


—Maverick Li, Men’s Health, 30 Mar. 2023




These will be followed by fully autonomous small cargo aircraft and then, in the 2040s, commercial travel.


—Jaclyn Trop, Robb Report, 30 Mar. 2023




The sheriff’s office advised no travel in Raymond on Thursday morning, as well.


—Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 30 Mar. 2023




As the action advances, Lodkina sees Eva leaving behind the monumental but remote ideals of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Beethoven for an experiential idealism of travel, nature, exploration, and even fun.


—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2023


See More

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• travail (obsolete)
• travell (obsolete)

Etymology[edit]

PIE word
*tréyes

From Middle English travelen (“to make a laborious journey, travel”) from Middle Scots travailen (“to toil, work, travel”), alteration of Middle English travaillen (“to toil, work”), from Old French travailler (“to trouble, suffer, be worn out”). See travail.

Largely displaced fare, from Old English faran (“to go [a long distance], to travel”). More at fare.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɹævəl/
• Rhymes: -ævəl

Verb[edit]

travel (third-person singular simple present travels, present participle travelling or (US) traveling, simple past and past participle travelled or (US) traveled)

1. (intransitive) To be on a journey, often for pleasure or business and with luggage; to go from one place to another.

   John seems to spend as much time travelling as he does in the office.

   • 1930, Pickthall, Marmaduke (translator), The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, surah 28, verse 29:

     Then, when Moses had fulfilled the term, and was travelling with his housefolk, he saw in the distance a fire and said unto his housefolk: Bide ye (here). Lo! I see in the distance a fire; peradventure I shall bring you tidings thence, or a brand from the fire that ye may warm yourselves.

2. (intransitive) To pass from one place to another; to move or transmit

   Soundwaves can travel through water.

   The supposedly secret news of Mary’s engagement travelled quickly through her group of friends.

3. (intransitive, basketball) To move illegally by walking or running without dribbling the ball.
4. (transitive) To travel throughout (a place).

   I’ve travelled the world.

5. (transitive) To force to journey.

   • 1596 (date written; published 1633)​, Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:

     They shall not be travailed forth of their own franchises.

6. (obsolete) To labour; to travail.

   • 1707, Richard Baxter, The Practical Works of the Late Reverend and Pious Mr. Richard Baxter, page 646:

     Necessity will make men fare hard, and work hard, and travel hard, go bare, and suffer much; yea it will even cut off a leg or arm to save their lives;

   • 1719, William Tilly, The Acceptable Sacrifice, page 335:

     We labour sore, and travel hard, and much Study is a Weariness to our Flesh; and of making many Books there is no End.

   • 1794, “Resignation”, in A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain.Volume 10, page 144:

     Man holds in constant service bound The blustering winds and seas; Nor suns disdain to travel hard Their master, man, to please;

Conjugation[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

• fare, journey, reyse

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

travel (countable and uncountable, plural travels)

1. The act of traveling; passage from place to place.

   space travel

   travel to Spain

2. (in the plural) A series of journeys.

   I’m off on my travels around France again.

3. (in the plural) An account of one’s travels.

   He released his travels in 1900, two years after returning from Africa.

   • 1903, Henry Yule, Arthur Burnell, Hobson-Jobson

     CALUAT, s. This in some old travels is used for Ar. khilwat, ‘privacy, a private interview’ (C. P. Brown, MS.).

4. The activity or traffic along a route or through a given point.
5. The working motion of a piece of machinery; the length of a mechanical stroke.

   There was a lot of travel in the handle, because the tool was out of adjustment.

   My drill press has a travel of only 1.5 inches.

6. (obsolete) Labour; parturition; travail.

   • 1667, John Tanner, The hidden treasures of the art of physick, page 208:

     Hard Labour is when more vehement Pains and dangerous Symptomes happen to Women in Travel, and continue a longer time.

7. Distance that a keyboard’s key moves vertically when depressed.

   The keys have great travel.

Usage notes[edit]

• Used attributively to describe things that have been created or modified for use during a journey.

Synonyms[edit]

• (act of travelling): journey, passage, tour, trip, voyage
• (activity or traffic along a route or through a given point): traffic
• (working motion of a piece of machinery): stroke, movement, progression

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• travel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References[edit]

• “travel”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• travel in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams[edit]

• retval, varlet

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Possibly from French travail; compare with Danish travl.

Adjective[edit]

travel (neuter singular travelt, definite singular and plural travle, comparative travlere, indefinite superlative travlest, definite superlative travleste)

1. busy

References[edit]

• “travel” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Possibly from French travail; compare with Danish travl.

Adjective[edit]

travel (neuter singular travelt, definite singular and plural travle, comparative travlare, indefinite superlative travlast, definite superlative travlaste)

1. busy

References[edit]

• “travel” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

1. [ʹtræv(ə)l]

1. путешествие

means of travel — средства передвижения

sea travel, travel by boat — морские путешествия

space travel — космические путешествия

tropical travel — путешествие в тропики

travel writing /books/ — книги о путешествиях

travel writer — автор книг о путешествиях

travel companion — спутник

to set out on travels — отправиться в путешествие

travel was slow and dangerous in olden days — в старое время путешествие совершалось медленно и было сопряжено с опасностями

1) поездки; (дальние) странствия

travels abroad — заграничные поездки

back from one’s travels — возвратившийся из странствий

is he still on his travels? — он всё ещё путешествует?, он ещё не вернулся из своей поездки?

2) описание путешествий

a book of travels — книга о путешествиях

to enjoy reading travels — любить читать (книги) о путешествиях

3. 1) движение; продвижение

the travel of satellites around the Earth — движение спутников вокруг Земли

2) распространение ()

shock (wave) travel — распространение ударной волны

3) скорость (бега)

travel and nose are the most necessary qualifications of a dog — у собаки важнее всего скорость бега и чутьё

4. движение, продвижение

1) перемещение цели

2) движение ()

2. [ʹtræv(ə)l]

1. путешествовать

to travel a great deal /widely/ — много путешествовать, объехать много стран

to travel the whole world — объехать весь мир

to travel round the world — совершать кругосветное путешествие

to travel light — путешествовать налегке /с небольшим багажом/

to travel for one’s health — путешествовать с целью поправки здоровья

2. 1) ездить; ехать

to travel from one end of the city to the other — ездить с одного конца города на другой

to travel on business — ездить по делам

2) ехать ()

certain roads can be travelled only on horseback — по некоторым дорогам можно ездить только верхом

3) проезжать, покрывать расстояние

that day we travelled 800 km — в тот день мы проехали /покрыли расстояние в/ 800 км

I have travelled long distances on foot — я проходил большие расстояния пешком

the modern travel book has travelled a long way from a formal diary — современная книга путешествий прошла /проделала/ большой путь от обычного дневника

4) ездить в качестве коммивояжёра

to travel for a firm — ездить в качестве коммивояжёра какой-л. фирмы

to travel in carpets — торговать коврами ()

3. 1) перевозить

to travel cattle — перевозить скот

2) перевозиться

cases which travel in freight cars — чемоданы, которые перевозятся /которые перевозят/ в товарных вагонах

3) допускать перевозку

this wine won’t travel — это вино нельзя перевозить, это вино не выдержит перевозки

4. двигаться, передвигаться, перемещаться

a horse travelled slowly — лошадь шла медленно

many birds travel north in June — многие птицы в июне летят на север

animals travel on land, in the water, and in the air — животные перемещаются по земле, в воде и по воздуху

the train was travelling at 150 km an hour — поезд шёл /ехал/ со скоростью 150 км в час

5. перемещаться, распространяться

light travels faster than sound — скорость света превышает скорость звука

bad news travels quickly — плохие вести быстро доходят /распространяются/; ≅ худые вести не лежат на месте

ideas travel slowly [quickly] — идеи распространяются медленно [быстро]

the pain travelled all the way to his head — боль дошла наконец и до его головы

6. (over)

1) перебирать ()

his mind travelled over recent events on — перебирал в памяти недавние события

she let her thoughts travel over the past — она обратилась мыслями к прошлому

2) переходить от предмета к предмету ()

his eyes travelled over the enemy lines — он рассматривал вражеские позиции

this car can really travel — у этой машины скорость что надо

8. вращаться, быть вхожим; принадлежать

to travel in wealthy circles — вращаться в богатом обществе, быть вхожим в круг богатых

the crowd he travelled with — компания /круг лиц/, к которой /к которому/ он принадлежал; люди, с которыми он общался

9. пастись, постепенно продвигаясь вперёд ()

did you travel or come by boat? — ты пришёл пешком или приехал на лодке?

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When I was deputy chairman I could travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh without leaving Tory land. In a two-week period I covered every constituency in which we had an MP. There were 14. Now we have only one. We appear to have given up.

Jeffrey Archer

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD TRAVEL

Travaillen to make a journey, from Old French travaillier to travail.

PRONUNCIATION OF TRAVEL

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF TRAVEL

Travel is a verb and can also act as a noun.

WHAT DOES TRAVEL MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of travel in the English dictionary

The first definition of travel in the dictionary is to go, move, or journey from one place to another. Other definition of travel is to go, move, or journey through or across. Travel is also to go, move, or cover a specified or unspecified distance.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO TRAVEL

PRESENT

PAST

FUTURE

CONDITIONAL

IMPERATIVE

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH TRAVEL

SYNONYMS OF «TRAVEL»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «travel» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF TRAVEL

Find out the translation of travel to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «TRAVEL»

The term «travel» is very widely used and occupies the 574 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of travel

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «TRAVEL» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «TRAVEL»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word travel.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TRAVEL»

Discover the use of travel in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to travel and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TRAVEL»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term travel is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Travel [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/travel>. Apr 2023 ».