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US /ˈzɛl.ət/
Freq #42788

Meanings

  1. 1

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a fervent and even militant... partisan
Word family
Forms zealots
Related forms jealousjealousyzealzealotryzealous

Appears in

Etymology

Initially only found as Middle English zelote, an epithet of Simon the Zealot, acquiring its current senses in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Middle English derives from Latin zēlōtēs, from Ancient Greek ζηλωτής (zēlōtḗs, “emulator, zealous admirer, follower”), from ζηλόω (zēlóō, “to emulate, to be jealous”), from ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”).

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