Jealousy
nounA resentful, envious feeling toward someone who has an advantage, possession, or relationship that one wants.
How to spell jealousy
8 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce jealousy
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does jealousy mean?
- nounA resentful, envious feeling toward someone who has an advantage, possession, or relationship that one wants.
Jealousy in a sentence
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Her promotion stirred a quiet jealousy among the rest of the team.
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He could not hide his jealousy when his brother bought a new car.
Where does jealousy come from?
Language of origin: French
This word descends from the Old French gelosie, meaning 'zeal' or 'jealousy', which was built on gelos, the source of modern English 'jealous'. Behind the French lies the Late Latin zelosus, 'full of zeal', and ultimately the Greek zelos, which meant ardour, eager rivalry, or burning emotion. The original sense was therefore close to passionate enthusiasm, and it gradually narrowed to describe the suspicious, possessive feeling we mean today. English adopted the word in the 1200s, and the spelling kept the soft 'j' that French gave it rather than the original Greek 'z'. Curiously, 'zeal' and 'jealousy' are genuine cousins from that same Greek root, which is why both carry a sense of intense, consuming feeling.
How the word is built
- jealous (envious, protective of what one has)
- -y (noun-forming suffix denoting a state or quality)
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