Where does “Janus” come from?

Janus comes from Latin Ianus, which derives from Proto-Indo-European h₁ey- and ultimately Proto-Indo-European yeh₂-, though the original meaning remains uncertain.

Janus (English): The god of doorways, gates and transitions, and of beginnings and endings, having two faces looking in opposite directions

Definitions

  1. The god of doorways, gates and transitions, and of beginnings and endings, having two faces looking in opposite directions

Ancestry of “Janus”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinIānus—
2Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₂-to go; to go in, enter; to ride, to travel

Words derived from “Janus”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₂- →Every word from Latin Iānus →