vbl. sb. [f. SOJOURN v. + -ING1.]
1. The action or fact of staying temporarily in a place.
c. 1290. S. Eng. Leg., I. 151. Þare he bi-lefde in soiourninge al þe ȝwile þat he wolde.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, III. 386. He thocht he to Kyntyr wald ga, And swa lang soiowrnyng thar ma, Till wyntir weddir war away.
c. 1477. Caxton, Jason, 9 b. Peleus on the morne callid Jason and sayd that their long sojournyng displaisid him.
1528. Lyndesay, Dreme, 470. This Iupiter, withouttin sudgeornyng, Passis throw all the twelf planetis, full ewin, In ȝeris twelf.
1571. Golding, Calvin on Ps. lxix. 35. Quiete continewance is matched ageinste soieorninge for a tyme.
1611. Bible, Gen. xxviii. 4. The lande wherein thou art a stranger [marg. of thy soiournings].
1701. Stanhope, St. Augustine’s Medit., III. iv. 251. Let my present sojourning tend ever to thee.
† b. A place of temporary stay. Obs.–1
13[?]. K. Alis., 5209 (Laud Ms.). Þennes hij wenten wiþouten duellyng, And souȝtten better soiournyng.
c. The time of temporary stay.
1611. Bible, Exod. xii. 40. Now the soiourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was foure hundred and thirtie yeeres.
1782. V. Knox, Ess., cxliv. (1819), III. 131. Unfortunate boy [Chatterton]! poorly wast thou accommodated during thy short sojourning among us.
1825. Horne, Introd. Script. (ed. 5), III. II. i. 80. During the sojourning of the Israelites in the wilderness, Moses established [etc.].
† 2. Delay, respite. Obs. rare.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, I. 96. Haid ȝe tane keip how at that king Alwayis, for-owtyn soiournyng, Trawayllyt for to wyn senȝhory.
c. 1400. Laud Troy Bk., 6022. Gregeis were fayn of that grauntyng [of truce], For thei hadde nede of soiornyng.
