Published on 08/01/2023 13:30 by Kevin Chen

Janus Words

Janus is the ancient Roman god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, doorways, passages, frames, endings, and duality. He is often depicted as having two faces.

From this mythology, we get the phrase “Janus word” — a word with two contradictory meanings. A contranym!

Transparency

In nearly every context, the word “transparent” means clear. In linguistics, semantic transparency is the degree to which the meaning of a compound word can be inferred from its parts (morphemes). In business, transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability. In optics, a transparent material refers one that allows light to pass through with minimal scattering.

And yet, the first time I ever cracked a Distributed Systems textbook, the word “transparency” meant the exact opposite. A transparent system is (1) one whose internals are not visible to the outside world, and (2) one whose external interface is isolated from internal changes. It is this former sense that seems counterintuitive.

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Written by Kevin Chen