transhumance

American  

[trans-hyoo-muhns, yoo-, tranz-] / trænsˈhyu məns, ˈyu-, trænz- /

noun

1. the seasonal migration of livestock, and the people who tend them, between lowlands and adjacent mountains.

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transhumance British  

/ trænsˈhjuːməns /

noun

1. the seasonal migration of livestock to suitable grazing grounds

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Other Word Forms

• transhumant adjective

Etymology

Origin of transhumance

1900–05; < French, equivalent to transhum ( er ) to shift ground (modeled on Spanish trashumar; trans-, humus ) + -ance -ance

Example Sentences

The tinkling of sheep bells floats in the air, announcing the movement of 1,000 sheep and some goats through an ancient Spanish transhumance — or livestock migration — route.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2023

He criticizes authorities for not promoting transhumance more.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2023

Modern farming methods have reduced the transhumance seasonal movement of livestock to greener pastures in Spain and other countries in recent decades.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2023

The government had recently decreed an end to their ancestral transhumance, offering permanent settlements and farmland in its stead.

From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2021

Most of the surviving herders in this part of Kazakhstan practice a form of seminomadism known as transhumance, alternating between winters in a low-altitude village and summers in a pasture, or zhailau, in the mountains.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2019