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zealous

Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:20 am
by William Hupy
This word is rarely used, except as a compliment to a lawyer's representation of a client. May I suggest that persons not of that occupation use it more so that it does not slide off into oblivion? We just do not have enough Z words as it is and do not get me started on needing more Q words. But I wonder of the origin of zealous, zeal and zealously.

Re: zealous

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:46 pm
by Philip Hudson
Zeal comes straight from the Greek with meaning intact. Etymonlin says there is not any known PIE root. Etymonlin also says that zeal is a church word. Sorry, if you aren't in a church, you cannot use the word zeal. Shipley says the PIE root is "ia" which means to look for, to seek. This produced, through Greek, the English words zeal, zetetic, jealous and jealousy. I didn't know the word zetetic. It means in an investigative mode.

Don't always believe Shipley. He didn't know what a navel orange is. Alas, he is dead so I can't inform him. Last night, I learned from Sandra Brown that tarmac is concrete and rats have pink tails. Although I am one of her most devoted fans, she might not appreciate my correcting her. And baby rat-tails are sort of pink. I do know rats.

Keep your ears and eyes open. You just might learn something.

Re: zealous

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:57 pm
by Philip Hudson
William Hupy: I agree that we need more z words. But couldn't we just leave Q out of the dicitionary? it looks so much like an O and the small q looks like a g in many fonts. There are other ways of spelling q words and no English q can stand without leaning on a u. Does anyone remember the elaborate Q we were taught to write in cursive in the 1940s? Well, only the Good Doctor, Perry and I remember the 40s, so I suppose not. It looked like the numeral 2 on steroids.

Re: zealous

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:04 pm
by Perry Lassiter
I'm repeatedly amazed by the various experiences with words on this forum. Zeal is a word I read fairly often and have no fear of its demise. All sorts of people have zeal. The connotations bring to mind someone who is passionate about a cause and works very hard and enthusiastically about that cause. It can apply to lawyers, and also to anyone else. In the NT Paul speaks of some having a zeal not according to knowledge. I presume he means those we still know who hear the sky is falling and take off in ten directions at once.