363: diary and journal Dec 6, 2015

Ever wonder whether it is better to say 'diary' or 'journal'‽ Although many people use the word 'journal' to escape the connotation to femininity, a journal and a diary aren't really different. The word 'journal' comes from late Middle English when it denoted a book containing the appointed times of daily prayers, ultimately from Latin 'diurnalis' which is related to the word 'diurnal'.
Similarly, 'diary' comes from the Latin word 'diarium', which is from the word 'dies' meaning ‘day’.