journey
UK[ˈdʒɜːni]US[ˈdʒɜːrni]
n
an act of travelling from one place to another, especially over a long distance
v
to travel somewhere
Etymology
the word 'journey' entered english in the middle ages from the old french 'jornee', which itself evolved from the vulgar latin 'diurnata', meaning 'a day's work, a day's travel'. this vulgar latin term is a derivative of the classical latin 'diurnus', meaning 'of the day', which originates from 'dies', the latin word for 'day'. the semantic evolution is clear: from the core concept of a 'day', it extended to the work or distance that could be covered in a single day, eventually generalizing to any travel or passage, regardless of duration. this progression from a unit of time to the activity performed within it illustrates a common pattern of meaning shift in language.
Analysis
the word 'journey' is a simplex form derived from the old french 'jornee', meaning 'a day's travel or work'. it is not productively divisible into smaller, meaningful morphemes in modern english.
Examples
the journey from london to edinburgh by train takes about four and a half hours.
they embarked on a perilous journey across the desert.
the book describes his spiritual journey from doubt to faith.