grand tourn.
/ˌɡran(d) ˈtʊə/, /ˌɡran(d) ˈtɔː/, U.S. /ˌɡræn(d) ˈtʊ(ə)r/ 1. Chiefly with the and capital initials. A tour of major cities and places of interest, esp. in Europe, formerly undertaken as part of a person's education. Frequently in to make the grand tour.In the 18th cent. the term referred especially to a journey through any or all of France, Germany, Switzerland, and (especially) Italy, made by young men of rank, and typically regarded as completing their education. Cf. tour n. 3a.
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society > travel > aspects of travel > a journey > [noun] > tour > types of
the tour1642
grand tour1678
circular tour1860
swing1860
tourette1881
voyage of discovery1890
roundabout1894
Cook's tour1902
conducted1907
conducted tour1907
book tour1939
tour d'horizon1952
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > holiday-making or tourism > [noun] > type of holiday or tour
grand tour1678
villegiature1740
villeggiatura1742
honeymoon1791
wedding visit1794
honeymooning1832
wedding tour1847
wedding trip1855
second honeymoon1872
tourette1881
weekending1886
package holiday1959
fly-cruise1968
ski pack1969
ecotour1973
package1977
1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) Pref. sig. āvi And no man vnderstands Liuy and Cæsar..like him, who hath made exactly the Grand Tour of France, and the Giro of Italy.]
1678 J. Gailhard Compl. Gentleman ii. 140 They who have mind to know more of the particularities of the Grand Tour, may hereafter read some observations of mine on the Voyage of France.
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. i. 3 Sir, you have made the grand tour—you are a polite gentleman—a very pretty gentleman.
1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) IV. xlii. 261 Thou seest the worst that can happen, should we not make the Grand Tour upon this occasion.
1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 56/2 In 1714 he [sc. Lord Chesterfield] left the University to make the usual grand tour of Europe.
1869 J. E. T. Rogers in A. Smith Inq. Wealth Nations (new ed.) I. Pref. 12 Young men of fortune and fashion made what was called the ‘grand tour’ under the guidance of a tutor.
1903 J. Conrad & F. M. Hueffer Romance i. i. 4 When Ralph made the grand tour, he had made the acquaintance of his Spanish relations.
1949 E. Goudge Gentian Hill i. i. 6 Sent upon the Grand Tour by an obliging uncle he had lost his heart to a French girl.
2012 New Yorker 16 Apr. 90/1 British holidaymakers, who basically invented European tourism—snapping up Canalettos on the Grand Tour.
2. In extended use: any extensive or exhaustive tour or journey. Also figurative.
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society > travel > [noun] > exploring a place
exploring1577
exploration1616
grand tour1793
explore1873
society > travel > aspects of travel > a journey > [noun] > long or far
grand tour1793
trek1941
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > survey > [noun]
oversight1550
surveya1568
insight1581
theoric1588
view1604
compact1644
grand tour1793
overview1916
1793 J. O'Keeffe World in Village i. i. 7 Madam, my chaise is at the door—permit me the honour of whipping you round the circuitous circle in the grand tour of Esher, Weston Green,..and Ditton Marsh.
1805 J. Turnbull Voy. round World III. xxxiii. 42 A journey to the mottoes, a distance of about twenty miles, is a grand undertaking, a perfect grand tour.
1843 T. C. Haliburton Attaché I. xv. 270 The decanters now take the ‘grand tour’ of the table.
1872 W. H. Lamon Life Abraham Lincoln xx. 505 It was intended to occupy the time remaining..with a grand tour from State to State and city to city.
1941 J. M. Cain Mildred Pierce ii. 39 Making the grand tour of all the speako's he knows.
1971 Daily Tel. 2 Dec. 6 (advt.) The complete story of man's conquest of the moon—glimpses of the future and the fantastic ‘grand tour’ of the planets.
2010 New Scientist 18 Sept. 34/1 Here we take you on a grand tour of the burgeoning field of neuroaesthetics.
Derivatives
grand ˈtourist n. a person who makes a grand tour, or the Grand Tour.
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1792 J. Budworth Fortnight's Ramble Lakes Pref. p. xiv I was telling a Grand Tourist where I had been, and he dashed off to Switzerland.
1856 Daily News 17 May 2/3 Rome, Naples, Venice, and Switzerland constitute a harvest-field..thoroughly exhausted by the Grand Tourists of many generations.
1969 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 4 Jan. 64/2 Whether the world of the Superjet will allow the survival of the palace hotels is a question facing grand tours and grand tourists.
2003 R. MacFarlane Mountains of Mind (2004) v. 147 These Grand Tourists would return as the..disseminators of new cultural attitudes towards landscape in general and mountains in particular.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
grand tourv.
/ˌɡran(d) ˈtʊə/, /ˌɡran(d) ˈtɔː/, U.S. /ˌɡræn(d) ˈtʊ(ə)r/ Somewhat rare.
1. transitive. (With it) to make the grand tour (grand tour n. 1). Also (in extended use): to make an extensive tour of (a country, a region, etc.).
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1836 Carey's Libr. Choice Lit. 2 Apr. 4/2 He must be despatched grand-touring it towards Vesuvius, in order to put the finishing stroke to his education.
1955 P. Shepard in Landscape Summer 30/1 Chauvinistic arguments for Grand-Touring America instead of Europe bloomed with the railroads.
2001 R. Crawford Mod. Poet iii. 123 He grew up to be a lord who grand-toured Europe's mountains and cities.
2. intransitive. To make the grand tour (grand tour n. 1). Also in extended use: to make a long and extensive journey.
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1886 J. Ruskin Præterita I. xii. 392 [They] were grand-touring in Italy, and Sicily.
1958 New Yorker 8 Feb. 45/1 (advt.) Mrs. Rudkin grand-toured through England, and France, and Germany.
2010 S. Fried Appetite for Amer. 81 It was common for groups who had ‘Grand Toured’ together to remain close friends.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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