Jealousy — From Old French to English | etymologist.ai
jealousy
/ˈdʒɛl.ə.si/·noun·c. 1290, Middle English 'jalousie', in Robert Mannyng's Handlyng Synne and related early ME religious texts·Established
Origin
From Greek zēlos (ardour, zeal) through Latin zelus and Old French jalous, 'jealousy' originally described any burning intensity of devotion before narrowing, by the 14th century, into possessive suspicion — its lost twin 'zeal' taking the virtuous half of the same etymological fire.
'Jealousy' enters Middle English as 'jalousie' or 'gelosie' (attested c. 1300), borrowed directly from Old French 'jalousie' (feminine noun from 'jalous'). Old French 'jalous' derives from Medieval Latin 'zelosus' meaning 'full of zeal, ardent,' itself from Late Latin 'zelus,' a borrowing of Greek 'zēlos' (ζῆλος), meaning 'zeal, ardour, eager rivalry, emulation.' The Greek term carried both positive senses (admirable emulation, enthusiasm
Did you know?
The slatted window blind called a jalousie — familiar on old porches and shuttered French windows — takes its name directly from the French word for jealousy. The design allows the person inside to look out while remaining invisible, and 18th-century Frenchspeakers found the metaphor irresistible: jealousy is the emotion that makes you watch without being seen. The word for the blind and the emotionare
by the 14th century, notably in Chaucer's use in The Knight's Tale (c. 1390) and Troilus and Criseyde. Cognates sharing the deeper root include 'zeal,' 'zealot,' and 'zealous,' all from the same Greek source via different Old French or Latin intermediaries. Key roots: *yeh₂- (Proto-Indo-European: "to be fervent, to glow with passion or heat"), zēlos (ζῆλος) (Ancient Greek: "zeal, ardour, emulation, jealous rivalry"), zelus (Late Latin: "zeal, fervour, jealousy").