Savannah

Etymology

English explorer William Dampier, in his 1697–1705 volumes of A New Voyage Round the World, used the spelling "savannah" (with the terminal 'h') throughout, which became the British English form of the word. Dampier describes woodlands he saw on the island of "Trist" (Isla del Triste or Trist Island) in the 'Bay of Campeachy' (Bay of Campeche) in the Gulf of Mexico: "The West part is dry and sandy, bearing a sort of long Grass, growing in Tufts very thin. This is a sort of Savannah, with some large Palmeto Trees growing in it". He also used that spelling for descriptions of similar environments in Sumatra and the Philippines in accounts of a later voyage to New Holland (northern Australia).