jealousy English · revision 39943

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1225|origins=grc ζῆλος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈd͡ʒɛl.ə.si/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|gelusie]], also [[m|enm|jelosie]],^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|gelosie]] (modern [[m|fr|jalousie]]), also meaning "enthusiasm, love, longing",^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010) formed on [[m|fro|gelos|t=keen, zealous; jealous]], the source of [[jealous]], with a noun suffix.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) The adjective comes from [[la-lat|zēlus|t=zeal]] through [[la-vul|*zēlōsus]], and the Late Latin noun is [[m|grc|ζῆλος|tr=zēlos]], which sometimes meant "jealousy" but more often "emulation, rivalry, zeal".^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Hoad 1986) [[zeal]] and [[zealous]] are later borrowings of the same word, from Latin.^(Etymonline) The Anglo-Norman [[m|xno|gelusie]] is recorded from the 13th century for jealousy and for zeal for or against someone.^(AND)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In biblical language, the jealousy of God: in the ''Ancrene Riwle'', about 1225.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the word to about 1200, of sexual possessiveness and suspicion,^(Etymonline) and the OED's first example of jealousy in love, the fear of being supplanted, is from 1303, in Robert Mannyng's ''Handlyng Synne''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English the word kept the wider range of its French source.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) It could mean anger or indignation against someone (about 1425–1649) or eager devotion to a person or cause (1436–1565), senses now carried by ''zeal'',^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and also care or watchfulness, the link being the idea of guarding something.^(Etymonline) From Chaucer, about 1385, it meant suspicion or mistrust in general, a sense the OED now marks as dialectal;^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) Merriam-Webster labels it British dialect.^(MWU 2024) Resentment of a rival's success or advantage is recorded from about 1425, in Lydgate,^(OED 2026) and vigilance in guarding a possession from 1526, in Tyndale's Bible.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it first as "suspicion in love".^(Johnson 1755) In 1834 the word was also used for a slatted window blind, a ''jalousie''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – the jealousy of God, in biblical language.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1303 – fear of losing a lover's affection.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1385 – suspicion, mistrust (now dialect).^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1425 – resentment of another's advantage.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1425 – anger, indignation (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1526 – watchful care for something.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1834 – a slatted blind, a jalousie.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A feeling of [[suspicion]] and fear of being replaced by a rival in someone's affection: ''His jealousy ruined the friendship.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)

+ # [[resentment|alt=Resentment]] or [[envy]] of someone else's success, advantages or possessions.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Watchful care in protecting something one has; close [[vigilance]].^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (dialect) Suspicion or mistrust.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[jealous]]

+ * [[jalousie]]

+ * [[zealous]]

+ * [[zeal]]

+ * [[envy]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Usage writers distinguish ''jealousy'' from [[envy]]: envy is a longing for something that another person has won or achieved, while jealousy is resentment of a rival who has gained, or might gain, something one wants or has,^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Etymonline) as in love or ambition.^(Etymonline) The American Heritage Dictionary notes that in everyday use the two overlap.^(AHD 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}