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savanna(h) †

[< earlier zavana Sp. < Arawakan (Taino) zabana, undoubtedly influenced by Cdn F savane used in this sense]

Atlantic Provinces

DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.

a tract of peat bog; a boggy barren.

See: caribou plain

Quotations

1760

[All these Indians . . . are comprehended by French authors, under the general appellation of Savanois, from the nature of the country they inhabit, which is low, swampy, and ill-wooded, those drowned barren lands, being called Savanes in Canada.]

1849

I paced and took angles along indifferent roads, climbed steep ascents, and crossed the great savannah of some 40 miles long, which would afford an almost inexhaustible supply of peat. . . .

1883

These savannas are composed of fine, black, compact peat-mould, formed by the growth and decay of mosses, and sustain countless herds of reindeer.

1952

Many of these [bogs] are treeless and are locally known as "savannas."