journey
/ˈdʒɜːrni/
noun
Origin
Latin
diurnus — of the day, daily
Overview
Meaning Now
- An act of traveling from one place to another.
- A period or process of development or improvement.
Literal older meaning
a day's travel
Language path
Latin → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
journee
Earliest period
13th century
Journey
The word stems from the Latin 'diurnus' (daily). In the medieval period, a 'journey' literally referred to the distance a person could travel in a single day. Over time, the restriction to a single day was dropped, and it came to denote any act of traveling regardless of duration.
Evolution
- Latin
diurnata
“a day's work or travel”
Derived from 'diurnus'.
- Old French
journée
“a day's duration or journey”
- Middle English
journee
“a day's travel; a distance traveled in a day”
Loanword from Old French.
- Modern English
journey
“travel in general”
Lost the specific 'one day' limitation.
Connections
Word parts
journ
root
day
ey
suffix
suffix denoting duration or activity
Related across languages
French
journée
day (duration)
Italian
giornata
day's work or duration
Spanish
jornada
day's work or journey
Explore next
Related to journey
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.