Forms: α. 3–5 gelusie, -usye, 4–6 gelosie, -osy(e, -ousie, -ousy(e, 5 -owsye, -ozye, 6 (gelacy), gealosie, -osy(e, -ousy. β. 4 ielesye, 4–7 ielousie, -ousy, (4–5 -ousye, 5 -acy, 5–6 -osy(e, 6 -usy, -owsy); 6–7 iealousie, -sye, 7– jealousy. γ. 4 ialusy(e, 4–6 -ousie, -ousye, 6 -owsye. δ. 5 iolysye. [a. OF. gelosie, jalousie (= Pr. and It. gelosia), f. gelos JEALOUS: see -Y.] The quality of being jealous.
† 1. Zeal or vehemence of feeling against some person or thing; anger, wrath, indignation. Obs.
c. 1400. Apol. Loll., 25. Þe gelousy [1382 Wyclif Wisd. v. 18 ielouste] of Him schal tak armor, & arme þe crature to venge Him on þe wickid.
1535. Coverdale, Deut. xxix. 20. His wrath and gelousy shall smoke ouer soch a man.
1611. Bible, Ps. lxxix. 5. How long, Lord, wilt thou be angry, for euer? shall thy ielousie burne like fire?
1649. Bp. Reynolds, Hosea, i. 32. The Lord shewing the jealousie of his Justice.
† 2. Zeal or vehemence of feeling in favor of a person or thing; devotion, eagerness, anxiety to serve. Obs.
1436. Pol. Poems (Rolls), II. 165. He hadde a manere gelozye To hys marchauntes, and lowede hem hartelye.
1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 170 b/1. The Iuge wyste not who had wrong for the ialousye of Iustyse that he had. Ibid., 442/1. The swete percepcyon of thy precious body whiche by Ialousye of loue I doo take be to me eschewyng of dampnacion.
1565. T. Stapleton, Fortr. Faith, 20. This shall the gelousy of the Lorde of Hostes bringe to passe.
3. Solicitude or anxiety for the preservation or well-being of something; vigilance in guarding a possession from loss or damage.
1387–8, 1526. [see JEALOUS a. 3].
1601. R. Johnson, Kingd. & Commw. (1603), 109. A citie holden by the Genoise, with great iealousie, by reason of the neighborhoode of the great Duke.
1639. T. Brugis, trans. Camus’ Mor. Relat., 160. Of a love intirely pure, and … with a holy jealousie of the protection of her integrity.
1738. Bolingbroke, On Parties, Ded. 23. There is a plain and real Difference between Jealousy and Distrust…. Men may be jealous, on Account of their Liberties, and I think They ought to be so, even when They have no immediate Distrust that the Persons, who govern, design to invade them.
1856. Emerson, Eng. Traits, Aristocracy, Wks. (Bohn), II. 83. The jealousy of every class to guard itself, is a testimony to the reality they have found in life.
4. The state of mind arising from the suspicion, apprehension or knowledge of rivalry: a. in love, etc.: Fear of being supplanted in the affection, or distrust of the fidelity, of a beloved person, esp. a wife, husband or lover.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 1896. But where þe wyfe haþ gelousye, Þer beþ wrdys grete and hye.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, Laurentius, 698. Þe feynd … gert hyme fal In Ialusy, Venand his wyf had mysdone Vith a ȝunge knycht.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 441. The fyr of Ialousie [v.rr. ielusye, gelousie, gelesie, Ielousie, -sye] vp sterte With Inne his brest and hente him by the herte.
1432–50. trans. Higden (Rolls), IV. 349. For contempte of vice of iolysye.
1535. Coverdale, Song Sol. viii. 6. Loue is mightie as the death, and gelousy as the hell.
1611. Bible, Num. v. 29. This is the law of ielousies, when a wife goeth aside to another in stead of her husband, and is defiled.
1711. Addison, Spect., No. 170, ¶ 2. Jealousy is that Pain which a Man feels from the Apprehension that he is not equally beloved by the Person whom he entirely loves.
1871. Dale, Ten Commandm., ii. 63. Jealousy is but the anger and pain of injured and insulted Love.
b. in respect of success or advantage: Fear of losing some good through the rivalry of another; resentment or ill-will towards another on account of advantage or superiority, possible or actual, on his part; envy, grudge.
c. 1425. Lydgate, Assembly of Gods, 640. Malyce, Frowardnes, Gret Ielacy.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, VIII. xiii. There befelle a Ialousye … betwyxe kynge Marke and sir Tristram, for they loued bothe one lady.
1549. Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Rom. xi. 30. To folowe your godlynes, though it be but euen for enuie and malice, as the propertie of them is to be gyuen to a ialowsye.
1650. R. Stapylton, Strada’s Low-C. Warres, VI. 21. Lest this warrelike Preparation might beget a Ielousy in the minds of princes, his Majesty satisfied them by his Ambassadours.
a. 1715. Burnet, Own Time, II. (1724), I. 208. This drew a jealousy on me from the Bishops.
1836. W. Irving, Astoria, I. 90. There were feuds between the partners themselves, occasioned … by jealousy of rank.
1870. Freeman, Norm. Conq. (ed. 2), I. iv. 163. We see traces of strong local diversities, sometimes rising into local jealousies.
1879. McCarthy, Own Times, II. xxv. 232. [Turkey] reckoning on the mutual jealousies of the cabinets.
c. In biblical language, attributed to God: see JEALOUS a. 4 c, and quot. 1860 below.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 90. Ich am gelus of þe, Syon, mi leofmon, mid muche gelusie.
1611. Bible, Deut. xxxii. 16. They prouoked him to iealousie with strange gods.
1622. Donne, Serm., i. 3 a. Iealous of his iealousie, He will not have his iealousie despised nor forgotten.
1860. Pusey, Min. Proph., 102. ‘Jealousy’ is used … in the O. T. of that attribute in God, whereby He does not endure the love of His creatures to be transferred from Him, or divided with Him. Ibid., 373. God’s jealousy is twofold. It is an intense love, not bearing imperfections or unfaithfulness in that which It loves, and so chastening it; or not bearing the ill-dealings of those who would injure what It loves, and so destroying them.
5. Suspicion; apprehension of evil; mistrust. Now dial. † To have in jealousy: to be suspicious of, suspect, mistrust (obs.).
c. 1385. Chaucer, L. G. W., 722 (Thisbe). Maydenys been I-kept for gelosye Ful streyte lyst they dedyn sum folye.
1523. Pace, Lett. to Hen. VIII., in Strype, Eccl. Mem. (1721), I. App. xi. 22. Against such persons as are had in a jelosie of revolting.
1541. Act 33 Hen. VIII., c. 24 § 1. Some gelosie of their affection and favor towardes their kinsmen … hath bene conceyued and had against them.
1659. D. Pell, Impr. Sea, 322–3. Sailing in the Seas without any mistrust or jealousy of Sands.
1702. J. Logan, in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem., IX. 82. Through a jealousy of the vessel being crank.
1714. C’tess Cowper, Diary (1864), 36. He had some little Jealousy, before he went, that the fine Lady was Lady Harriet Vere.
1793. Smeaton, Edystone L., § 264. Some suspicion of the Polparra Fishermen, as having cut away the buoy…; a jealousy I should not have given way to.
1893. Stevenson, Catriona, xi. 119. I judged it was beyond the course of nature they could have any jealousy of where I was.
6. = JALOUSIE.
1834. M. Scott, Cruise Midge, xviii. 288. I … peered through the open jealousies, or blinds, on the scene below.
7. attrib.
1611. Bible, Num. v. 25. Then the Priest shall take the ielousie offering out of the womans hand.
1899. S. Butler, Shaks. Sonn., 98. The jealousy series must be cated in the spring months of 1585–6.
