Foray comes from Middle English forrayen and probably traces back to an Anglo-French word that meant "raider" or "forager." It's related to the word forage, which commonly means "to wander in search of food (or forage)." Foray, in its earliest sense, referred to a raid for plunder. Relatively recently, foray began to take on a broader meaning. In a sense, foray still refers to a trip into a foreign territory. These days, though, looting and plundering needn't be involved in a foray. When you take a foray, you dabble in an area, occupation, or pastime that's new to you.