Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The first month of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The first month of the year, according to present and the later Roman reckoning, consisting of thirty-one days. Abbreviated Jan.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The first month of the year, containing thirty-one days.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun The first month of the Gregorian calendar, following the December of the previous year and preceding February. Abbreviation: Jan or Jan.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English Januarie, Jenever, from Old North French Jenever, from Latin Iānuārius (mēnsis), (month) of Janus, from Iānus, Janus; see ei- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Re-Latinized from Middle English Ieneuer, from Anglo-Norman genever, from Latin iānuārius ("(month) of Janus"), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European base *ei-, "to go".

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