Source : WordNet®

traversal
     n 1: taking a zigzag path on skis [syn: {traverse}]
     2: travel across [syn: {traverse}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

traversal
     
         Processing {nodes} in a {graph} one at a time, usually
        in some specified order.  Traversal of a tree is {recursive}ly
        defined to mean visiting the {root node} and traversing its
        children.  Visiting a node usually involves transforming it in
        some way or collecting data from it.
     
        In "pre-order traversal", a node is visited _before_ its
        children.  In "post-order" traversal, a node is visited
        _after_ its children.  The more rarely used "in-order"
        traversal is generally applicable only to binary trees, and is
        where you visit first a node's left child, then the node
        itself, and then its right child.
     
        For the binary tree:
     
             T
            / \
           I   S
          / \
         D   E
     
        A pre-order traversal visits the nodes in the order T I D E S.
        A post-order traversal visits them in the order D E I S T.  An
        in-order traversal visits them in the order D I E T S.
     
        (2001-10-01)