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janitor
[ jan-i-ter ]
/ ˈdʒæn ɪ tər /
See the most commonly confused word associated with custodian
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noun
a person employed in an apartment house, office building, school, etc., to clean the public areas, remove garbage, and do minor repairs; caretaker.
Archaic. a doorkeeper or porter.
verb (used without object)
to be employed as a janitor.
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Origin of janitor
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin jānitor “doorkeeper,” equivalent to jāni- (combining form of jānus “doorway, covered passage”) + -tor -tor
OTHER WORDS FROM janitor
jan·i·to·ri·al [jan-i-tawr-ee-uhl], /ˌdʒæn ɪˈtɔr i əl/, adjectiveun·der·jan·i·tor, nounWords nearby janitor
janiform, Janina, Janine, janissary, Janissary music, janitor, janitorial, janitress, Janjaweed, janky, Jan Mayen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use janitor in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for janitor
janitor
/ (ˈdʒænɪtə) /
noun
Scot, US and Canadian the caretaker of a building, esp a school
mainly US and Canadian a person employed to clean and maintain a building, esp the public areas in a block of flats or office building; porter
Derived forms of janitor
janitorial (ˌdʒænɪˈtɔːrɪəl), adjectivejanitress, fem nWord Origin for janitor
C17: from Latin: doorkeeper, from jānua door, entrance, from jānus covered way (compare Janus 1); related to Latin īre to go
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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