• TrackinDaKraken
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    2 days ago

    Today, I officially give up on pointing out the difference between envy and jealousy. When the English get it wrong, the battle is lost.

    • scholar
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      2 days ago

      Good, you are gatekeeping a meaningless distinction for a definition that has been in use since the 1300s. From wiktionary:

      Some usage guides seek to distinguish “jealous” from “envious”, using jealous to mean “protective of one’s own position or possessions” – one “jealously guards what one has” – and envious to mean “desirous of others’ position or possessions” – one “envies what others have”.[1] This distinction is also maintained in the psychological and philosophical literature.[2][3] In common usage, however, although envious is always with respect to others’ possessions or fortune, jealous does not always refer strictly to one’s own possessions (as shown by the citations above).