Janiform

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7419
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

Janiform

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Feb 04, 2022 6:04 pm

• janiform •


Pronunciation: jæn-ê-form • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: Two-face, having two faces facing in opposite directions like that of the Roman god Janus.

Notes: Janus was the two-faced Roman god of transitions like life/death, youth/adulthood, one historical era to another. His likeness appeared on doors and gates in ancient Rome. His two faces often were young and old, interpreted as looking ahead and looking backward.

Image

In Play: This word means "like Janus", so the faces may be anyone's: "The statue they erected in the village square was janiform, with the face of Willy Playfair on one side and Les Cheatham's on the other." If you don't want to call your co-conversationalist the two-faced liar that they are, try a figurative use of today's Good Word: "I find you a janiform prevaricator."

Word History: Today's Good Word was nicked from Latin Ianus "Janus" (pronounced [yanus]) which, uncapitalized, means "gate, passageway" The feminine of the same word is ianua "door". Latin apparently made its words from Latin ire "to go, walk, swim, fly (move)", a word based on PIE ei- "to go", source also of Sanskrit eti "he goes" and yanti "they go". It also went into the making of Russian idti "to go", Lithuanian eiti "to go", Latvian iet "to go". We see it in January, the gateway to a new year. Portuguese janela "window" was inherited from Latin ianella "small door", the diminutive of ianua.

Form comes from Latin forma "shape, figure, appearance" via Old French forme. Where forma came from is controversial. The most likely source is PIE bher-/bhor- "to bear, carry", via a sense of "bearing, the way you carry yourself". If so, it is related to the English word bear, birth, bairn, burden and Latin fortuna and ferre "carry" and their progeny. (We owe a word of thanks to someone whose sobriquet in the Agora is Justscience for recommending today's curious Good Word.)
• The Good Dr. Goodword

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8040
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: Janiform

Postby Slava » Tue Sep 26, 2023 1:17 pm

Rather obvious, but related to janitor, which you visit here and here.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Dr. Goodword, Google [Bot] and 44 guests