This week’s theme
Eponyms

This week’s words
galahad
baedeker
zephyr
janus-faced
ritz

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(JAY-nuhs-fayst)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Looking in two different directions.
2. Having two contrasting aspects.
3. Hypocritical or deceitful.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates, and transitions. Earliest documented use: 1682. The month of January is named after Janus.

USAGE:

“Rabin was always a complex figure and his Janus-faced policies -- on the one hand the tough soldier who allegedly encouraged the army to ‘break bones’ during the first intifada and on the other hand the ‘man of peace’ -- loomed large in Israeli history.”
Seth J. Frantzman; Balancing Security and Necessity; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Mar 24, 2017.

See more usage examples of Janus-faced in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: