ζηλωτής

Forms

ζηλωτής (zēlōtḗs) m (genitive ζηλωτοῦ); first declension^[1] Doric ζαλωτής (zalōtḗs).^[2]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek ζηλόω (zēlóō, “to emulate, admire”) with the agent suffix -τής (-tḗs),^[1][3] the verb being formed from ζῆλος (zêlos, “emulation, zeal”).^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Isocrates' speech To Demonicus urges the young man to become an imitator and emulator of his father's virtue, and Plato uses it in the Protagoras of the admirers of Spartan training.^[6][4][7]

Semantic evolution

In classical and Hellenistic Greek a ζηλωτής was someone who admired and emulated another person, a teacher or a way of life: Aeschines, Polybius and Plutarch use it of followers and enthusiasts.^[6][8] The Septuagint translates Hebrew Biblical Hebrew קַנָּא (qannāʾ) with it in the phrase θεὸς ζηλωτής, the “jealous God” of the Ten Commandments, and 2 Maccabees speaks of zealots for the laws.^[6][9][3]

In the New Testament it is someone devoted to God, to the law or to good works, and the apostle Simon is called “the Zealot”, a rendering of Κανανίτης (Kananítēs).^[10][6][8] Babiniotis explains that the 1st-century Jewish movement against Roman rule took its name from a Hebrew and Aramaic word meaning “to burn”, which Greek either transliterated as Κανανίτης or translated as ζηλωτής.^[4] Through Late Latin zēlōtēs this sense reached English zealot in the early 14th century.^[11]

The learned Modern Greek ζηλωτής (zilotís) is used today for an ardent supporter, with a feminine ζηλώτρια (zilótria).^[12][5]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Isocrates and Plato use it for an emulator or admirer.^[6][8]
• 4th century BC – Aeschines uses it of the admirers of a policy.^[6][8]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for followers of a leader.^[8]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it of zeal for God and the law, and of Simon the Zealot.^[10][6]
• 1st century AD – Josephus uses it for the Zealots.^[6]
• Early 14th century – English borrows zealot through Late Latin.^[11]
• Modern Greek – The learned ζηλωτής (zilotís) means an ardent supporter.^[12][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. An emulator, one who imitates out of admiration.^[6][8]
2. An enthusiastic admirer of qualities or policies; a follower of a leader or teacher.^[6][8][10]
3. (Septuagint) Jealous, said of God.^[6][9]
4. (Koine) One devoted to God or the law; a zealot, a member of the Jewish party of the Zealots.^[6][10][8]

Related words

• ζηλόω (zēlóō)
• ζῆλος (zêlos)
• Latin zelotes
• English zealot

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
3. ^ a b Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
4. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b c Τεγόπουλος, Γ.; Φυτράκης, Ε. (1997), Μείζον Ελληνικό Λεξικό, Athens: Αρμονία
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
10. ^ a b c d Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki