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DictionarysojournTemporary stay
noun / verb

sojourn

SOH-jurn/sˈoʊdʒɝn/

A temporary stay in a place.

A small guest room accommodates the traveler's sojourn.

A traveler settled into a small guest room for a short stay, with a lightly unpacked weekend suitcase beside her and a few personal belongings arranged near the guest bed.
Etymology
soLatinunder, until
+journLatinto last long

The time-related prefix combines with a verb derived from a word for “day,” giving the image of spending the day somewhere. That image leads to the meaning of a temporary stay.

In context

LibriVox Audiobooks333:45
Taken on the whole, my sojourn at this park was fairly pleasant. I had a good billet, good food, and some good friends. Orders at last arrived that we had to leave this place
Everyman at War. Sixty Personal Narratives of the War by Charles B. Purdom Part 1/3 | Audio Book

More examples

  • She sojourned in a small coastal town while writing.
  • The travelers enjoyed a brief sojourn at the inn.
  • He was sojourning abroad when the letter arrived.

Forms

sojourn · sojourns · sojourned · sojourning

Similar words

stay
Stay is general; sojourn is a more formal word for a temporary stay.
visit
A visit may be brief or social; a sojourn emphasizes residence for a limited time.