noun
or sa·van·nah səˈvanə
( -s )
Etymology: earlier zavana, from Spanish, from Taino zabana
1. : a treeless plain : an open, level region — used especially of land in the southeastern United States
2. : a tropical or subtropical grassland usually containing scattered trees or shrubs that develops in areas in which heavy rainfall is interrupted by a distinct dry season, that is often maintained by human action (as of periodic burning or heavy grazing), and that tends to pass on the one hand into steppes and on the other into savanna woodland