Nowadays a lot of people do not just go on a holiday, they’re are interested in going on a safari. What does the word mean and what language does it come from? Safari comes from the Swahili language and means “journey”. This word is also known in Arabic. It comes from the verb safara (سفر to travel). Originally safari did not just mean going on a trip but hunting and shooting big game. However, these days if you go on a safari the animals are observed and photographed.
The word found its way into English during the colonial era. At that time, the word safari was used to refer to a hunting trip in East Africa. Today, the term is also related to other parts of the world. Nowadays anyone can go on a safari, and you do not have to be rich to do so.
From the word safari, it is easy to derive other words like embassy and ambassador in Arabic. These words all have the same root s-f-r (س – ف – ر).
Important words in Arabic with the same root s-f-r
| Arabic word | transliteration | meaning |
| سفر / سفرة | safar / safra | journey |
| سافر | saafira | he travelled / to travel |
| يسافر | yusaafir | he travels |
| سفارة | safaara | embassy |
| سفير | safeer | ambassador |
| سفيرة | safeera | ambassador (female) |
To find out more about the Arabic root and pattern system, click here.
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