Sikeliot
02-08-2012, 03:11 PM
Words in frequent use I mean, ones which are used incorrectly as if they mean something else.
In English, a major one I see is jealous/jealousy.
Jealousy DOES NOT mean envy, and too many people use them synonymously. You often hear people say "I am so jealous of your hair!" or when someone says "I am going on vacation", "OMG I AM SO JEALOUS." If you want what someone else has, you are envious. You are, rather, jealous of things that YOU have that you do not want to share with others, i.e. a jealous husband is jealous not of the people whom his wife is spending time with, but jealous of her because she is not with him all the time. Jealousy is actually, likely closer to "possessiveness" than "envy". We are jealous of the things we do not want others to take from us, not of the characteristics of others we want for ourselves (otherwise we are envious, not jealous).
It means "fearful or wary of being supplanted" or "vigilant in guarding something", not "envious".
In English, a major one I see is jealous/jealousy.
Jealousy DOES NOT mean envy, and too many people use them synonymously. You often hear people say "I am so jealous of your hair!" or when someone says "I am going on vacation", "OMG I AM SO JEALOUS." If you want what someone else has, you are envious. You are, rather, jealous of things that YOU have that you do not want to share with others, i.e. a jealous husband is jealous not of the people whom his wife is spending time with, but jealous of her because she is not with him all the time. Jealousy is actually, likely closer to "possessiveness" than "envy". We are jealous of the things we do not want others to take from us, not of the characteristics of others we want for ourselves (otherwise we are envious, not jealous).
It means "fearful or wary of being supplanted" or "vigilant in guarding something", not "envious".