English Reference
Word noun

january

n.
US /ˈdʒænjuˌɛɹi/ jan·u·ary UK spelling Januaries, january's
Definition
  1. 01 A1 Beginner

    the first month of the year.

    the first month of the Gregorian calendar, following December and preceding February.

    Simple

    “In many cold countries, January is the month with the most snow.”

    In context

    “The company traditionally reviews its annual budget in early January to ensure all departments are aligned for the new fiscal year.”

    Usage

    Always capitalized in English writing.

    Teacher's tip

    Learners often forget the capital letter because months are not always capitalized in their native languages.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂-der. Latin iānus Latin Iānus Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āsios Latin -arius Latin Iānuāriusder. Anglo-Norman geneverbor. Middle English Janevere Middle English Januarie English January From Middle English Januarie, januari, re-latinised forms of Middle English Janevere, Ieneuer, from Anglo-Norman genever, from Latin Iānuārius (“(month) of Janus”), a compound of Iānus ("Janus") + -ārius (adjectival suffix), with the first element perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root *yeh₂- (“to go”). Doublet of Gennaro.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin Iānuārius
Level A1 · Beginner
Frequency Very common
Updated