Excursion.
Etymology: [L. excursio: cf. F. excursion. See Excurrent.]
1. A running or going out or forth; an expedition; a sally. Far on excursion toward the gates of hell. Milton. They would make excursions and waste the country. Holland.
2. A journey chiefly for recreation; a pleasure trip; a brief tour; as, an excursion into the country.
3. A wandering from a subject; digression. I am not in a scribbling mood, and shall therefore make no excursions. Cowper.
4. (Mach.)
2 more senses
Length of stroke, as of a piston; stroke. [An awkward use of the word.]
Syn. -- Journey; tour; ramble; jaunt. See Journey.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for excursion; he lists it under journey.
Where he writes about it:
An excursion is a brief tour or journey, taken for pleasure, often by many persons at once; as, an excursion to Chautauqua. — from journey
Antonyms
none given