Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “jealousy” come from?

Jealousy comes from Middle English jalousie, from Old French jalousie and jalous, from Late Latin zelosus, from Latin -osus and Ancient Greek ζῆλος meaning zeal or ardor.

jealousy (English): A state of suspicious guarding towards a spouse,...

Definitions

  1. A state of suspicious guarding towards a spouse,...

Ancestry of “jealousy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishjalousieJealousness or jealousy in a relationship or...
2Old Frenchjalousie—
3Old Frenchjalouseager; zealous; jealous
4Latinzēlōsus—
5Latinzēlus—
6Ancient GreekΖῆλος—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanyeh₂-to go; to go in, enter; to ride, to travel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yeh₂- →