Etymologically
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journée

Etymology and origin of the French word journée

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1150, Wace, Vie de saint Nicolas (jornee)
Ultimate origin
Latin (diurnus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French jour
French journée
French toujours

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʒuʁ.ne/[1]

Forms

journée f (plural journées)[1] Old French jornee.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French jour + -ée, formed on the Old French form jorn.[4][2][3][5][6] Wiktionary instead traces it to Vulgar Latin *diurnāta.[1] Compare Italian giornata, Old Occitan jornada and Spanish jornada.[7][5]

“Jour” continues popular Latin diurnus (“of the day”), which replaced classical diēs.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1150 Wace's Vie de saint Nicolas uses jornee for a day's journey, and also for that distance as a measure.[4]

Semantic evolution

Wace soon used it for a day's work (1155) and for the land ploughed in a day, a measure of land (1160–1174); Étienne Boileau (1260) has it for a day's pay.[4] About 1195 Ambroise uses it for a day of battle, the source of its use for a day of historic events, such as la journée des Dupes or les journées de juillet 1830.[4][8][2] The length of the day itself, a jornee “from morning to evening”, is found about 1280.[4]

Gens de journée “day labourers” and travailler à la journée are in Furetière (1690); toute la sainte journée “all day long” is found in 1790, à longueur de journée in the early 20th century and journée continue, a working day without a long lunch break, in 1961.[2][9]

Timeline

  • c. 1150 – A day's journey, in Wace.[4]
  • 1155 – A day's work.[4]
  • c. 1195 – A day of battle, in Ambroise.[4]
  • 1260 – A day's pay, in Étienne Boileau.[4]
  • 1690 – Gens de journée in Furetière.[2]
  • 1790 – Toute la sainte journée.[9]
  • 1961 – Journée continue.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A day, the time from sunrise to sunset; daytime: pendant la journée, en fin de journée.[8][10]
  2. A day considered for its weather or activities: une belle journée, une journée bien remplie, bonne journée !.[10][1]
  3. A day's work; a working day: travailler à la journée.[11][2]
  4. A day's wages.[4][5]
  5. A day marked by a historic event: la journée des barricades.[10][8]
  6. (dated) A day's journey.[4][5]
  7. À longueur de journée, toute la sainte journée: all day long.[11][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 103a
  7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Journée.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/journ%C3%A9e. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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