journey

pronunciation

How to pronounce journey in British English: UK [ˈdʒɜːni] word uk audio image

How to pronounce journey in American English: US [ˈdʒɜːrni] word us audio image

Word Origin

journey: journey: [13] Etymologically, a journey is a ‘day’s’ travel. The word comes via Old French jornee from Vulgar Latin *diurnāta. This in turn was derived from Latin diurnum ‘daily allowance or ration’, a noun use of the adjective diurnus ‘daily’, which was based on diēs ‘day’. The specific notion of a ‘day’s’ travel had died out by the mid-16th century, leaving only the more general ‘travel’.But before going altogether, ‘day’ left its mark on another manifestation of the word journey: the word journeyman ‘qualified worker’ [15]. This has no connection with ‘travelling’; it originally denoted one who was qualified to do a ‘day’s’ work. Another Latin derivative of diurnus was the adjective diurnātis, which has given English diurnal [15], journal [14] (first cousin to diary), and journalism [19]. Sojourn belongs to the same language family.=> diary, diurnal, journal, sojourn

journey (n.): c. 1200, "a defined course of traveling; one's path in life," from Old French journee "day's work or travel" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin diurnum "day," noun use of neuter of Latin diurnus "of one day" (see diurnal). Meaning "act of traveling by land or sea" is c. 1300. In Middle English it also meant "a day" (c. 1400); a day's work (mid-14c.); "distance traveled in one day" (mid-13c.), and as recently as Johnson (1755) the primary sense was still "the travel of a day."

journey (v.): mid-14c., "travel from one place to another," from Anglo-French journeyer, Old French journoier, from journee (see journey (n.)). Related: Journeyed; journeying.