Janus: Word of the day for January 1, 2017

Janus , proper n :
(Roman mythology) The god of doorways, gates and transitions, and of beginnings and endings, having two faces looking in opposite directions. (attributively) Used to indicate things with two faces (such as animals with diprosopus) or aspects; or made of two different materials; or having a two-way action. (chemistry, attributively) Used to indicate an azo dye with a quaternary ammonium group, frequently with the diazo component being safranine. (figuratively) A two-faced person, a hypocrite. (astronomy) A moon of Saturn. The word January is from a Latin word meaning “month of Janus”. Happy New Year from all of us at the English Wiktionary!
January 1, 2017