The word "journal" seems pretty obvious — it refers to a daybook, a publication, a record of events. The root is from Latin ("diurnalis" = daily), via French ("jour" = day). But the other day I ran across a completely different meaning for journal: the part of a shaft or axle supported by a sleeve or bearing. There's apparently no explanation known for this mechanical-engineering usage. Wow!

(even better: seeking more information on this topic led me to find the "bearing blog" http://arlinghaus.typepad.com/blog/, which appears to be both fascinating and well-written; cf. SiMonumentumRequiris (4 Apr 2004), Zhurnal and Zhurnaly (8 Dec 2004), ...)

TopicLanguage - TopicJournalizing - 2006-02-26

(correlates: BabySteps, TreasureKnowledge, ReadLikely, ...)