Wordwyrt

adjourn

/əˈdʒɜːn/uh-JURN
/əˈdʒɝn/uh-JURN

Meaningappoint a day or dawn

Common meaning: pause or postpone a meeting

‘to, towards’ + ‘a day, a day’s span’ → adjourn

Journey through time

Hybrid: Latin + Old French Its parts come from different languages; the combined form first appears in our sources in Old French.

  • ad — Latin ad- “to, towards” (path traced)
  • journ — Old French jornee “a day, a day’s span” (path traced)

Parts join in Old French as ajorner.

  1. Latinad- + jornee‘to, towards + a day, a day’s span’source
  2. Old Frenchajorner‘appoint a day or dawn’source
  3. Middle Englishaiornensource
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsappoint a day or dawn → pause or postpone a meetingadjourn‘pause or postpone a meeting’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old French ajorner, which Skeat analyses as ad- ‘to, towards’ + jornee ‘a day, a day’s span’.

Roots

  • ajorner Old French “appoint a day or dawn”
  • jornee Old French “a day, a day’s span”

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