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Webster 1913 Edition


Zeal

Zeal

(zēl)
,
Noun.
[F.
zèle
; cf. Pg. & It.
zelo
, Sp.
zelo
,
celo
; from L.
zelus
, Gr. [GREEK], probably akin to [GREEK] to boil. Cf.
Yeast
,
Jealous
.]
1.
Passionate ardor in the pursuit of anything; eagerness in favor of a person or cause; ardent and active interest; engagedness; enthusiasm; fervor.
“Ambition varnished o’er with zeal.”
Milton.
Zeal, the blind conductor of the will.”
Dryden.
Zeal's never-dying fire.”
Keble.
I bear them record that they have a
zeal
of God, but not according to knowledge.
Rom. x. 2.
A
zeal
for liberty is sometimes an eagerness to subvert with little care what shall be established.
Johnson.
2.
A zealot.
[Obs.]
B. Jonson.

Zeal

,
Verb.
I.
To be zealous.
[Obs. & R.]
Bacon.

Webster 1828 Edition


Zeal

ZEAL

,
Noun.
[Gr., L.] Passionate ardor in the pursuit of any thing. In general, zeal is an eagerness of desire to accomplish or obtain some object, and it may be manifested either in favor of any person or thing, or in opposition to it, and in a good or bad cause.
Zeal, the blind conductor of the will.
They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Romans 10.
A zeal for liberty is sometimes an eagerness to subvert, with little care what shall be established.

Definition 2024


zeal

zeal

English

Noun

zeal (countable and uncountable, plural zeals)

  1. The fervor or tireless devotion for a person, cause, or ideal and determination in its furtherance; diligent enthusiasm; powerful interest.
    • Dryden
      Zeal, the blind conductor of the will.
    • Bible, Romans x. 2
      I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
  2. (obsolete) A zealot.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)
  3. The collective noun for a group of zebras.
    • 2012, Alex Kuskowski, Zeal of Zebras: Animal Groups on an African Safari, ISBN 1614802807, page 8:
      A zeal of zebras confuses predators. Each zebra has a different set of stripes.

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