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

Freret Market is held in the parking lot at the corner of Freret and Jena Streets on the first Saturday of each month, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., from October through February—excluding January. —Jenny Adams, AFAR Media, 11 Feb. 2025

In January of 1993, the early 90s Gang Green defense won its only playoff game at the Superdome. —Matt Breen The Philadelphia Inquirer, arkansasonline.com, 11 Feb. 2025

And in a massive move in January, EMPIRE purchased the 100,000-square-foot historic Financial District building One Montgomery, built in 1908, for $24.5 million, according to The San Francisco Business Times; Ghazi plans to move the company headquarters there after renovating it. —Dan Rys, Billboard, 11 Feb. 2025

In late January, the iconic funny man appeared on 101.1 The Wiz, reacting to a slew of rappers performing at Donald Trump‘s inauguration. —Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 11 Feb. 2025

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.