Gelous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Archaic form of jealous, describing someone anxious that a beloved may be unfaithful ; feeling bitter resentment toward another person for what they possess or achieve
2. An old spelling meaning distrustful of a rival in matters of affection ; harboring a sour envy of someone else's good fortune or success
3. Obsolete variant meaning fearful of losing a loved one to a competitor ; marked by spiteful envy toward those who have advantages one lacks

Etymology: "Gelous" is an older Middle English spelling of "jealous," which took its modern form only gradually as English spelling settled. The root is the ancient Greek "zēlos," meaning zeal, fervour, or eager emulation, not suspicion. Late Latin turned it into "zelosus," and Old French reshaped that into "jalous," where the meaning began to shift toward anxious guarding of a lover's affection. Jealous and zealous are doublets, two English words that come from the same source by different routes. Zealous kept the Greek sense of ardent devotion, arriving through Church Latin, while jealous came through French and picked up the sense of rivalry and distrust. Medieval English speakers used the two forms interchangeably for a time, so this spelling records a stage when the sense of devotion and the sense of suspicion had not yet separated.