Jealous

How to spell jealous

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce jealous

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does jealous mean?

1. adjectiveFeeling resentful envy of someone's advantages, or fearful and possessive about losing someone's affection.

Jealous in a sentence

• He grew jealous when his colleague was praised for the project he had helped build.

• She felt jealous of her sister's new car and the holidays she could afford.

Where does jealous come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Greek zelos, meaning 'zeal', 'ardour', or 'eager rivalry', a passionate intensity that could be admiring or competitive. Late Latin reshaped it into zelosus, 'full of zeal', which softened and split in meaning over time. English took it from the Old French jalous during the 1200s, and at first it could simply mean ardently devoted, much like its sibling 'zealous', which descends from the very same root. The sense narrowed toward resentment of a rival and the fear of losing someone's affection, the meaning we use most today. The spelling trap lies in that French inheritance: the opening 'jea' looks nothing like the original 'z', and the ending is the plain '-ous' rather than '-ious', so writers must resist adding an extra 'i'.

How the word is built

• jeal- (from Latin zelus, zeal/ardour)
• -ous (full of)