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transhumance

noun

  1. seasonal movement of livestock (such as sheep) between mountain and lowland pastures either under the care of herders or in company with the owners
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /tɹænzˈhjuːməns/

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from French transhumance, ultimately from Latin trāns (“across, beyond”) + humus (“ground”).

  1. The seasonal movement of grazing livestock (especially cattle, sheep, or goats) to new pastures which may be quite distant; alpine and nonalpine versions of such movement exist.

    There are rites of spring in the mountains, and this week I followed the transhumance, the annual movement of cattle, from their lower valley winter quarters up to the higher pastures.