Faith & RitualGreek → English
Zealot
/ˈzɛlət/noun
Someone who pursues a cause with uncompromising and often intolerant intensity.
The Greek roots
ζῆλος
zêlos
ardour, rivalry
Literally: “an eager emulator”
Follow a root:ζῆλος4 words
The story of the word
ζῆλος was neutral in Greek, the competitive heat you feel towards someone you want to match, and a ζηλωτής was an admiring imitator. The capitalised Zealots were the Jewish faction that pushed the revolt against Rome in AD 66 and held out at Masada, which loaded the word with what it now carries. Its quieter twin arrived by another road: Late Latin zelosus and Old French gave English jealous, so envy and zeal are one Greek noun split into two English tempers.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Late Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
jealousjealousyzealzealous
In a sentence
The committee needed an advocate and got a zealot instead.