Mind & EmotionGreek → English
Jealousy
/ˈdʒɛləsi/noun
Resentful fear of losing something or someone to a rival.
The Greek roots
ζῆλος
zêlos
ardour, rivalry, envy
Literally: “burning rivalry”
Follow a root:ζῆλος4 words
The story of the word
The same Greek noun that gives zeal, but by the other road: Late Latin zelosus, Old French jalous, English jealous around 1200. For centuries the two words were interchangeable, and the King James Bible calls God jealous in a sense closer to zealous. Jalousie, the slatted blind, is the same French word, named for watching without being seen.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Late Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 13th century
Same family
zealzealotjealousjalousie
In a sentence
His jealousy was quiet and constant, and it wore the friendship out.