zealot
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
First coined in English in 1638, from Ancient Greek ζηλωτής (zēlōtēs, “emulator, zealous admirer, follower”), from ζήλος (zēlos, “zeal, jealousy”), from ζηλόω (zēloō, “to emulate, to be jealous”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
zealot (plural zealots)
- one who is zealous, one who is full of zeal for his own specific beliefs or objectives, usually in the negative sense of being too passionate; a fanatic
- a member of a radical, warlike, ardently patriotic group of Jews in Judea, particularly prominent from a.d. 69 to 81, advocating the violent overthrow of Roman rule and vigorously resisting the efforts of the Romans and their supporters to heathenize the Jews.
- a member of an anti-aristocratic political group in Thessalonica from 1342 until 1350.
[edit] Quotations
- 1733: For modes of faith, let graceless zealots fight; / His can't be wrong whose life is in the right — Alexander Pope, Essay on Man, Epistle III
- 1892: Yet Brahmans rule Benares still, / Buddh-Gaya's ruins pit the hill, / And beef-fed zealots threaten ill / To Buddha and Kamakura. — Rudyard Kipling, Buddha at Kamakura
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
zealous person
member of the Zealot movement in Judea
