Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Etymology - Journey

Since I speak French I should have guessed but I didn't. Before a journey is a journey, it is a day. Then it is a day when something is set to happen, like a battle. Then it emerges as a distance travelled in a day (or number of days). And finally becomes a spell of travel to a place (a usage which took a while to embed) As usual OED is the source. Interesting, that once, it applied more usually to travel by land than by sea (where voyage applied) - I don't think we are that specific and careful with it any more. (But then I call the ground, floor, even when it is covered in grass)

Also interesting, that it had a phase of also meaning a days work (perhaps because military used to talk about a days journey for their march, and this was a military mans work?) - from here I think we get journeyman (like an apprentice) whereas I had assumed it was a metaphoric connection to "life journey".

From my perspective telling Phaeton as I do at present, it is interesting to think of the sun's journey - was once a non figurative description (pre Gallileo) and is now a metaphoric one.

Interestingly no references to journey as crossing into death, or journey as metaphor for life. Particularly in comparison with Fire where so many metaphoric usages were listed.

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