séjourner

Forms

séjourner^[1] Old French surjurner (1121–1134), sujurner (about 1138), sejorner;^[2][3][4] séjourner from about 1200.^[2][3][4] Middle French had the Latinizing forms subjourner (1477) and soubjourner (1541).^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sojorner, inherited from Vulgar Latin *subdiurnō (“to last for a while”),^[2][5][1][6] a compound of sub- (“somewhat”) and Late Latin diurnō (“to last, live long”), from diurnus (“of the day”).^[2][3][4] The first vowel changed by dissimilation, giving Old French sejorner;^[2][1] the variant surjurner has its prefix replaced by sur¹.^[2] Rey takes the modern form to be remade after the noun séjour.^[3] Littré thought the oldest French forms pointed rather to *superdiurnō.^[7]

Cognate with Italian soggiornare and Old Occitan sojornar.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is surjurner in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1121–1134), meaning “to stay for a time in a place”.^[2] The GLLF and the DHLF give an earlier date for sujurner and sejurner, the late 11th century, in the Chanson de Guillaume.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

From the start the verb meant “to stay rather long in a place”.^[3] Old French also used it for “to rest on a journey” and “to live with someone” (about 1150), whence séjourner de with an infinitive, “to cease from” (about 1165), and sans séjourner “without stopping” (about 1270), later “at once”; these uses are gone.^[3]

Transitive uses died out as well: séjourner quelqu'un “to lodge someone, let him rest” (about 1175), séjourner des chevaux “to rest horses” (late 12th century) and se séjourner en “to dwell on (a thought)”, still found in the classical period.^[3] The past participle séjourné “rested” lasted into the 18th century, and the sense “to delay, wait” into the 17th.^[8] With a thing as subject, “to remain in the same place”, it is recorded from 1600 in Olivier de Serres, of honey settling at the bottom of a pot.^[2][3]

Timeline

• Late 11th century – Sujurner and sejurner in the Chanson de Guillaume.^[4][3]
• 1121–1134 – Surjurner in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire.^[2]
• c. 1140 – Sujurner in Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis.^[2]
• c. 1165 – Séjourner de “to cease from” is recorded.^[3]
• c. 1270 – Sans séjourner “without stopping” appears.^[3]
• 1477 – The Latinizing form subjourner is found.^[3]
• 1600 – Olivier de Serres uses it of a thing that stays in one place.^[2][4]
• 1675 – Mme de Sévigné uses it figuratively.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To stay in a place for some time without settling there, to sojourn: elle a séjourné trois semaines à Lyon.^[9][2]
2. Of a thing, especially a liquid, to remain long in the same place, to stagnate: l'eau séjourne au fond du fossé.^[9][2][7]

Word family

• séjour

Related words

• jour

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 328b
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert