zelotypus

Forms

zēlotypus (feminine zēlotypa, neuter zēlotypum, comparative zēlotypior, superlative zēlotypissimus); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ζηλότυπος (zēlótupos, “jealous”).^[2][3][1] The first part of the Greek word is ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, rivalry, jealousy”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Petronius' novel, in the first century AD, both as a noun for a jealous man and, in the feminine zēlotypa, for a jealous woman.^[5][6][4]

Semantic evolution

In the first century AD it was used of jealous husbands and lovers: Quintilian speaks of a woman who accuses a jealous man, and Martial and Juvenal use the adjective.^[5][7] The Vulgate has mulier zēlotypa, a jealous wife,^[6] and Ecclesiastical Latin keeps the adjective and the noun.^[8]

In British Medieval Latin it meant sexually jealous, and as a noun a jealous husband and also a cuckold.^[9]

Timeline

• before 66 AD – Petronius uses it of a jealous man and a jealous woman.^[5][4]
• c. 35–95 AD – Quintilian writes of a woman accusing a zēlotypus.^[6][4]
• c. 67–127 AD – Juvenal uses the adjective.^[7][4]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate speaks of a jealous wife.^[6][4]
• Middle Ages – British writers use it for a jealous husband or a cuckold.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Jealous, especially in love.^[2][6][9]

Noun

1. A jealous man; in the feminine zēlotypa, a jealous woman.^[5][7][8]
2. (Medieval Latin) A jealous husband; a cuckold.^[9]

Word family

• zēlotypa
• zēlotypia

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press