excursion n.

word-forming element, in English meaning usually "out of, from," but also "upwards, completely, deprive of, without," and "former;" from Latin ex "out of, from within; from which time, since; according to; in regard to," from PIE *eghs "out" (source also of Gaulish ex-, Old Irish ess-, Old Church Slavonic izu, Russian iz). In some cases also from Greek cognate ex, ek. PIE *eghs had comparative form *eks-tero and superlative *eks-t(e)r-emo-. Often reduced to e- before -b-, -d-, -g-, consonantal -i-, -l-, -m-, -n-, -v- (as in elude, emerge, evaporate, etc.).

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to run."

It forms all or part of: car; career; cargo; caricature; cark; carpenter; carriage; carrier; carry; charabanc; charette; charge; chariot; concourse; concur; concurrent; corral; corridor; corsair; courant; courier; course; currency; current; curriculum; cursive; cursor; cursory; discharge; discourse; encharge; excursion; hussar; incur; intercourse; kraal; miscarry; occur; precursor; recourse; recur; succor.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek -khouros "running;" Latin currere "to run, move quickly;" Lithuanian karšiu, karšti "go quickly;"Old Irish and Middle Welsh carr "cart, wagon," Breton karr "chariot," Welsh carrog "torrent;" Old Norse horskr "swift."

[move quickly in search of something], c. 1300, scouren, a word of uncertain origin, probably from Old Norse skyra "rush in," related to skur "storm, shower, shower of missiles" (see shower (n.)). This was likely influenced by or blended with Old French escorre "to run out," from Latin excurrere (see excursion).

The sense also probably has been influenced by scour (v.1) "cleanse by hard rubbing" and entangled with it in some figurative uses and in phrases such as scour the countryside "clear (a place) of enemies or undesirable persons." Middle English also had it as a noun, as in the expression in good scour "quickly, with all haste" (c. 1300).