January

noun

Jan·​u·​ary ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē How to pronounce January (audio)
-ˌwe-rē
plural Januaries or Januarys
: the first month of the Gregorian calendar

Examples of January in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In January of this year, the International Monetary Fund predicted that artificial intelligence would have a negative impact on about 30% of jobs in advanced economies. Trevor Clawson, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024 But that deal collapsed in January after more than two years of negotiations. Patrick Frater, Variety, 23 Nov. 2024 After all, she's known Jason and Kylie Kelce for nearly a year, having met the couple for the first time at Travis Kelce's playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in late January. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 23 Nov. 2024 In 2021 and 2020 Spotify Wrapped released Dec. 1. Does Spotify Wrapped include listening data from January through December? Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 22 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for January 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of January was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near January

Cite this Entry

“January.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/January. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

January

noun
Jan·​u·​ary ˈjan-yə-ˌwer-ē How to pronounce January (audio)
: 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.

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