Where does “journey” come from?
Journey comes from Middle English journe, from Old French jornee meaning a day's travel, derived from Old French -ee (a suffix) applied to Latin diurnus meaning daily, which is based on Latin dies meaning day.
journey (English): A set amount of travelling, seen as a single...
Definitions
- A set amount of travelling, seen as a single...
Ancestry of “journey”, step by step
journey traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English journe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | journe | An endeavour or enterprise; an attempt at... |
| 2 | Old French | jornee | journey; day |
| 3 | Latin | diurnāta | — |
| 4 | Latin | diurnum | masculine accusative singular of diurnus; neuter... |
| 5 | Latin | diurnus | of the day; daily; day |
| 6 | Latin | diēs | A day, particularly |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | djēm | accusative singular of *djous |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *djous | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dyḗws | sky, heaven; sky god |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dyéws | sky, heaven |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dyew- | to be bright; sky, heaven |