• Buglefingers@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    In the way that language is commonly used, yes. People have been using it wrong for so long “jealous” has effectively become synonymous with “envious”. Even if I dislike and disagree with it being used this way.

    If someone is eating a donut and you say “I’m so jealous [of having the donut]” I’m fairly confident most everyone would understand you mean envious by definition but are using the word jealous to convey that meaning.

    • hakase@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      Here’s my comment from the last time this came up (like a week ago):

      “There’s been no meaning shift. The “possessive” and “envious” uses of jealous both date from the 14th century in English, and both senses were present in the ancestors of these words all the way back to Greek.”

      It’s always been synonymous with “envious”, as far back as we can trace.