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sojourn

[noun soh-jurn; verb soh-jurn, soh-jurn]
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noun
  1. a temporary stay: during his sojourn in Paris.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to stay for a time in a place; live temporarily: to sojourn on the Riviera for two months.
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Origin of sojourn

1200–50; (v.) Middle English sojurnen < Old French sojorner to rest, stay < Vulgar Latin *subdiurnāre, equivalent to Latin sub- sub- + diurn(us) of a day + -āre infinitive suffix; (noun) Middle English sojurne < Old French sojorn, derivative of the v.; see journey
Related formsso·journ·er, noun

Synonyms

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2. visit, vacation, rest, stop.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

travelersettlercustomerpatronvisitorcallercompanioninmateclientrecipienttenantvacationercrusaderwandererpioneersojournerlodgertransientboarder

Examples from the Web for sojourners

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • What charming associations these guests and sojourners have left behind!

    Italy, the Magic Land

    Lilian Whiting

  • This class of denizens or sojourners was also to be treated with the same kindness as their own blood.

    Usury

    Calvin Elliott

  • His plain carriage is seen but seldom by sojourners in Berlin.

    In and Around Berlin

    Minerva Brace Norton

  • For these sojourners, then, the box of bonnets had been intended.

    The Boy Tar

    Mayne Reid

  • Such should ever be the attitude of those who are but sojourners and pilgrims.

British Dictionary definitions for sojourners

sojourn

noun
  1. a temporary stay
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verb
  1. (intr) to stay or reside temporarily
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Derived Formssojourner, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Old French sojorner, from Vulgar Latin subdiurnāre (unattested) to spend a day, from Latin sub- during + Late Latin diurnum day
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sojourners

sojourn

v.

late 13c., "stay temporarily, reside for a time; visit;" also "reside permanently, dwell;" from Old French sojorner "stay or dwell for a time," from Vulgar Latin *subdiurnare "to spend the day" (source also of Italian soggiornare), from Latin sub- "under, until" (see sub-) + diurnare "to last long," from diurnus "of a day," from diurnum "day" (see diurnal). Modern French séjourner formed via vowel dissimilation. Related: Sojourned; sojourning.

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sojourn

n.

mid-13c., "temporary stay, visit," from Anglo-French sojorn, variant of Old French sejorn, from sejorner "stay or dwell for a time" (see sojourn (v.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper