Janus

American  

[jey-nuhs] / ˈdʒeɪ nəs /

noun

1. an ancient Roman god of doorways, of beginnings, and of the rising and setting of the sun, usually represented as having one head with two bearded faces back to back, looking in opposite directions.

2. Astronomy. a moon of the planet Saturn, located just outside the rings.

---

Janus ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒeɪnəs /

noun

1. the Roman god of doorways, passages, and bridges. In art he is depicted with two heads facing opposite ways

---

Janus ² British  

/ ˈdʒeɪnəs /

noun

1. a small inner satellite of Saturn

---

Janus Cultural  

1. The Roman god of doors and gateways and hence of beginnings.

---

Discover More

The month of January is named after Janus.

Janus was pictured with two faces looking in opposite directions, one young and one old. Consequently, a hypocritical person is often called “Janus-faced.”

Etymology

Origin of Janus

< Latin, special use of jānus doorway, archway, arcade

Example Sentences

Noah Barrett, lead energy and utilities analyst at Janus Henderson, said in an interview that he considers Wednesday’s drop in oil stocks to be a buying opportunity.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

Before those pricings, there had only been five IPO pricings in the past month, according to Renaissance Capital data, with the largest IPO being $840 million on March 19 from Janus Living.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026

This triggers a structural imbalance called a Janus reaction, which creates internal strain within the layers.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

Find insight on Canada’s mortgage-arrears rate, Victory Capital, Janus Henderson and more in the latest Market Talks covering Financial Services.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

“At any rate, I certainly bear you no ill will, my girl. I appreciate the difficulty of your quest. Especially when you have troublemakers like Janus to deal with.”

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan