Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “zel” come from?

zel (Old French) comes from Late Latin zelus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος, from Ancient Greek ζηλόω, from Ancient Greek -όω, from Proto-Indo-European -oyéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

Ancestry of “zel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Late Latinzelusjealousy; zeal, emulation
2Ancient Greekζῆλοςeager rivalry, zealous imitation, emulation, a...
3Ancient GreekζηλόωI emulate; I am jealous
4Ancient Greek-όωAdded to a noun or adjective to make a verb with...
5Proto-Indo-European-oyétiCreates factitive verbs from adjectives
6Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
8Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “zel”

  • zeal
  • overzeal
  • zealless
  • zealed
  • zealful
  • zele
  • zel
Every word from Chichewa iye →