Emily Dickinson Lexicon

EX-CUR'SION, n. [L. excursio, excurso, from cursus, from curro, to run.]

1. A rambling; a deviating from a stated or settled path. She in low numbers short excursions tries. Pope.
2. Progression beyond fixed limits; as, the excursions of the seasons into the extremes of heat and cold. Arbuthnot.
3. Digression; a wandering from a subject or main design. Atterbury.
4. An expedition or journey into a distant part; any rambling from a point or place, and return to the same point or place.