jornada

American  

[hawr-nah-duh, hawr-nah-thah] / hɔrˈnɑ də, hɔrˈnɑ ðɑ /

noun

Southwestern U.S.

jornadas plural

1. a full day's travel across a desert without a stop for taking on water.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• jornadas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of jornada

1650–60; < Spanish < Old Provençal < Vulgar Latin *diurnāta; see journey

Explanation

A jornada is a full day's journey across a difficult, waterless stretch of desert, particularly in the American Southwest. The word is derived from the Spanish word for "day," and in Spanish, jornada describes a standard workday or the distance a traveler can cover in a single day. In American Southwest history, it became synonymous with dangerous, waterless stretches of trail, such as New Mexico's infamous 100-mile-long Jornada del Muerto ("Journey of the Dead Man"), which has no water sources along the way. More generally, a jornada was the distance a traveler could cover between water holes; if a jornada was too long, people or animals could perish.

Example Sentences

Pero pasar de la concepción de la idea a la realidad, fue una jornada frustrante y agotadora.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2023

Ahora, “ella dirige esta oficina”, dijo un asistente jurídico durante una reciente jornada de trabajo.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2023

Su jefe le ha permitido seguir trabajando a distancia, pero ¿y si la biblioteca empieza a exigirle más de su actual jornada semanal de manera presencial?

From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2023

Si se presentan de 16 a 20 casos, será necesario considerar llevar a cabo más tiempo de la jornada escolar en línea.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 10, 2020

In this jornada, we had planned to reach La Frontera, the border of the state of Chiapas, at which place we had been promised we should arrive at 8:30 in the morning.

From In Indian Mexico (1908) by Starr, Frederick