Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. A set amount of travelling, seen as a single...

Ancestry of “journey”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishjourneAn endeavour or enterprise; an attempt at...
2Old Frenchjorneejourney; day
3Latindiurnāta—
4Latindiurnummasculine accusative singular of diurnus; neuter...
5Latindiurnusof the day; daily; day
6Latindiēs—
7Proto-Italicdjēmaccusative singular of *djous
8Proto-Italic*djous—
9Proto-Indo-Europeandyḗwssky, heaven; sky god
10Proto-Indo-Europeandyéws—
11Proto-Indo-Europeandyew-to be bright; sky, heaven

Words derived from “journey”

  • Journey
  • Journee
  • johnnycake
  • journeywork
  • journeyeth
  • journeywoman
  • journeyest
  • journeyperson
  • journeylike
  • microjourney
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dyew- →