Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
zeal. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
zeal, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
zeal in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
zeal you have here. The definition of the word
zeal will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
zeal, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle English zele, from Old French zel, from Late Latin zēlus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from Proto-Indo-European *yeh₂- (“to search”). Related to jealous.
Pronunciation
Noun
zeal (countable and uncountable, plural zeals)
- The fervour or tireless devotion for a person, cause, or ideal and determination in its furtherance; diligent enthusiasm; powerful interest.
- Synonyms: ardour, eagerness, enthusiasm, intensity, passion
- Antonym: apathy
She extols the virtues of veganism with missionary zeal.
1779, David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, part 12, pages 143–144:[…] the highest zeal in religion and the deepest hypocrisy, so far from being inconsistent, are often or commonly united in the same individual character.
1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 14, in Emma: , volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: for John Murray, →OCLC, page 250:[He] would begin admiring her drawings with so much zeal and so little knowledge as seemed terribly like a would-be lover,
1951 October, “Notes and News: The Harmonium at Troutbeck”, in Railway Magazine, page 709:It [Troutbeck] has religious isolation also, for it is several miles—and very strenuous miles in winter—from the parish church at Mungrisdale, and the introduction of the harmonium to the waiting room was due to the zeal of a vicar of many years ago who, in the absence of any other room in the village, obtained permission to use the premises for services, including Sunday School. Most of his successors have continued this self-sacrificing duty.
1962, Rachel Carson, chapter 15, in Silent Spring, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 248:The stockman’s zeal for eliminating the coyote has resulted in plagues of field mice, which the coyote formerly controlled.
- (obsolete) A person who exhibits such fervour or tireless devotion.
- Synonym: zealot
1614, Ben Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, London: Robert Allot, act v, scene 5, page 85:[…] like a malicious purblinde zeale as thou art!
1642, Thomas Browne, Religio Medici, London: Andrew Crooke, page 5:[…] there are questionlesse both in Greeke, Roman and Africa Churches, solemnities, and ceremonies, whereof the wiser zeales doe make a Christian use, and stand condemned by us;
- The collective noun for a group of zebras.
- Synonyms: dazzle, herd
2012, Alex Kuskowski, Zeal of Zebras: Animal Groups on an African Safari, →ISBN, page 8:A zeal of zebras confuses predators. Each zebra has a different set of stripes.
Translations
fervour or devotion
- Albanian: cenë (sq)
- Arabic: حَمَاس m (ḥamās), جُهْد m (juhd)
- Egyptian Arabic: جهد m (guhd)
- Armenian: նախանձախնդրություն (hy) (naxanjaxndrutʻyun)
- Azerbaijani: şövq, canfəşanlıq
- Belarusian: запа́л m (zapál), заўзя́тасць f (zaŭzjátascʹ)
- Bulgarian: усъ́рдие (bg) n (usǎ́rdie), стара́ние (bg) n (staránie), стреме́ж (bg) m (streméž)
- Catalan: zel (ca) m
- Cherokee: ᎤᏚᎩᎬᏗ (udugigvdi)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 熱心/热心 (zh) (rèxīn), 熱情/热情 (zh) (rèqíng), 激情 (zh) (jīqíng), 熱忱/热忱 (zh) (rèchén)
- Cornish: diwysykter m
- Czech: horlivost (cs) f
- Dutch: ijver (nl) m, geestdrift (nl) m
- Esperanto: fervoro (eo)
- Finnish: into (fi), intohimo (fi), kiihko (fi)
- French: zèle (fr) m, assiduité (fr) f
- Georgian: გულმოდგინება (gulmodgineba), სიბეჯითე (sibeǯite), თავგამოდება (tavgamodeba)
- German: Eifer (de) m, Begeisterung (de) f
- Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 n (aljan)
- Greek: ζήλος (el) m (zílos)
- Ancient Greek: προθυμία f (prothumía), σπουδή f (spoudḗ), ζῆλος m (zêlos)
- Hungarian: buzgóság (hu), buzgalom (hu), lelkesedés (hu), hév (hu), hevület (hu)
- Ido: zelo (io)
- Interlingua: zelo (ia)
- Irish: díograis f
- Italian: zelo (it) m
- Japanese: 熱情 (ja) (ねつじょう, netsujō), 情熱 (ja) (じょうねつ, jōnetsu), 熱意 (ja) (ねつい, netsui), 意気込み (ja) (いきごみ, ikigomi), 気勢 (ja) (きせい, kisei)
- Korean: 열정(熱情) (ko) (yeoljeong)
- Latin: studium (la) n, zēlus (la) m, ardor m (literally “flame”), fervor m (literally “a boiling heat”), alacritās f
- Macedonian: ревност f (revnost)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: engasjement (no) m, iver m
- Persian: غِیرَت (fa) (ğeyrat), تَعَصُّب (fa) (ta'assob)
- Plautdietsch: Iewa m
- Polish: zapał (pl) m inan, gorliwość (pl) f
- Portuguese: zelo (pt) m
- Romanian: zel (ro) n, ardoare (ro) f, râvnă (ro) f, sârguință (ro) f
- Russian: рве́ние (ru) n (rvénije), усе́рдие (ru) n (usérdije), стара́ние (ru) n (staránije), запа́л (ru) m (zapál) (colloquial)
- Sanskrit: उत्साह (sa) m (utsāha)
- Scottish Gaelic: eud m
- Slovak: horlivosť f
- Spanish: ahínco (es) m, fervor (es) m, celo (es) m, entusiasmo (es) m, denuedo (es) m
- Swedish: iver (sv), nit (sv) c, nitälskan c
- Tajik: ғайрат (ġayrat)
- Tocharian B: spelkke
- Turkish: hırs (tr), şevk (tr), heves (tr)
- Ukrainian: запопа́дливість f (zapopádlyvistʹ), за́пал m (zápal), завзя́ття n (zavzjáttja), завзя́тість f (zavzjátistʹ)
- Uzbek: gʻayrat (uz)
- Welsh: sêl f, selogrwydd m
|
Anagrams