January

noun

Jan·​u·​ary ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē 

-ˌwe-rē

plural Januaries or Januarys

: the first month of the Gregorian calendar

Examples of January in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sanders is a part of a running back room that has grown since Canales’ hiring in January. —Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2024

In January, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Board informed the cities of Albany and Berkeley that a former chemical plant had disposed of 11,100 tons of industrial waste at their municipal landfills decades ago. —Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2024

Read by January LaVoy Narration produced by Emma Kehlbeck and Krish Seenivasan Engineered by David Mason Rachel Poser is a story editor for the magazine. —Rachel Poser January Lavoy Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 4 June 2024

When Presley died in January 2023 at age 54, Keough was left with the daunting task of how best to complete the book. —Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 4 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Januarie, from Latin Januarius, 1st month of the ancient Roman year, from Janus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

January

noun

Jan·​u·​ary ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē 

: the first month of the year

Etymology

from Latin Januarius "first month of the year," from Janus, a Roman god

Word Origin

Among the many gods worshipped by the ancient Romans was one named Janus. He was believed to have two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. Janus was associated with doors, gates, and all beginnings. Because of that, when the Romans changed their calendar and added two months to the beginning of the year, they named the first one Januarius to honor Janus. The English January comes from Latin Januarius.