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Let's take a moment to think about janitors: dirty, sticky, back-breaking work, low pay,
low class, low self esteem. At least that's the image that many people have about this
underpaid, under appreciated segment of society. But, what are the origins of the word 'janitor'.
A word's etymology is a history of its origin and usage, not to be confused with entomology,
the study of ents and insects. The word 'janitor' traces its roots back to the Latin word 'janua,'
the word for 'door' and that combined with the agentative suffix '-tor' gives us our
modern word 'janitor.' But what is an agentive suffix? An agentive suffix is a suffix such
as '-er,' '-or,' '-ian,' or '-ist' added to the end of a verb or noun that changes it
into a new noun and essentially adds the meaning of 'someone or something that does whatever
the original word describes'. 'To work,' to exert oneself physically or mentally to do
make or accomplish something becomes 'worker,' someone who works. 'Piano,' a musical instrument
becomes 'pianist' someone who plays the piano. So what of our Latin word for door? When we
take 'janua,' a door, and add to it the agentive suffix '-tor' we get a keeper of a door, a
guardian of a door. Thus the original janitors had nothing to do with cleaning and everything
to do with the holding of keys and the keeping of doors. The Romans, who spoke Latin, named
one of their Gods using the same root word for door. In Roman mythology, Janus was the
god of beginnings, endings, and transitions and thus the god of doors and gateways. Because
of his role as the guardian of entrances and exits, Janus is often pictured with two heads,
looking forever into the past and the future. So, yeah, a pretty cool god. It is for Janus
that we get the month of January, the first month in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars
and the first month of the modern calendar, named for Janus precisely because it is the
beginning or entrance of the year. And if that's not enough, one of Saturn's moons is
named for Janus as well. So as we can see the word janitor was not at all a negative
thing. Saint Peter was even described in some texts as 'the Janitor of Heaven'. So why then
have we come to look on the word 'janitor' with disdain? Precisely because language changes,
and in this case, the word 'janitor' underwent a semantic change, a meaning change through
a process known as pejoration. Pejoration is a process by which a word's meaning degrades
or becomes more negative. For example, the word 'pagan' which now refers to an uncivilized,
barbarous, unchristian person has changed drastically from its original meaning of country
dweller. As janitors, who originally just acted as doorkeepers and key-holders naturally
began to take on the other aspects of a building's maintenance, the word acquired a more negative
meaning. Now it's hard to imagine a janitor without a toilet somewhere in our mental image.
Though some may look down on janitors, they certainly find themselves in good company
among gods, saints, and heavenly bodies. Until next time, remember that although janitors
might not hold the keys to the beginnings and endings of time, they do hold the keys
to your office.