adjourn
pronunciation
How to pronounce adjourn in British English:
UK [əˈdʒɜːn]
How to pronounce adjourn in American English:
US [əˈdʒɜːrn]
-
- Verb:
- close at the end of a session
- break from a meeting or gathering
Word Origin
- adjourn
- adjourn: [14] Adjourn originally meant ‘appoint a day for’, but over the centuries, such is human nature, it has come to be used for postponing, deferring, or suspending. It originated in the Old French phrase à jour nomé ‘to an appointed day’, from which the Old French verb ajourner derived. Jour ‘day’ came from late Latin diurnum, a noun formed from the adjective diurnus ‘daily’, which in turn was based on the noun diēs ‘day’.=> diary, journal
- adjourn (v.)
- early 14c., ajournen, "assign a day" (for convening or reconvening), from Old French ajourner (12c.) "meet" (at an appointed time), from the phrase à jorn "to a stated day" (à "to" + journ "day," from Latin diurnus "daily;" see diurnal). The sense is to set a date for a re-meeting. Meaning "to close a meeting" (with or without intention to reconvene) is from early 15c. Meaning "to go in a body to another place" (1640s) is colloquial. The -d- was added 16c. but is unwarranted, as the compound is not from Latin. Related: Adjourned; adjourning.
Example
- 1. The panel will adjourn in march to avoid influencing unduly the general election expected shortly thereafter .
- 2. He said they would adjourn in half an hour and the bill was dead , so I left .
- 3. The legislature may adjourn at times designated by the houses of parliament , for recess periods not exceeding three weeks in duration .
- 4. The leaders are expected to reach several agreements before they adjourn friday , namely on financial regulation and the role of the international monetary fund .
- 5. While many americans think roosevelt had the entire new deal in mind for the special session , he in fact initially assumed that congress would deal only with the banking crisis and then adjourn .