Zealot
(Zeal"ot) n. [F. zélote, L. zelotes, Gr. . See Zeal.] One who is zealous; one who engages warmly
in any cause, and pursues his object with earnestness and ardor; especially, one who is overzealous, or
carried away by his zeal; one absorbed in devotion to anything; an enthusiast; a fanatical partisan.
Zealots for the one [tradition] were in hostile array against zealots for the other.
Sir J. Stephen.
In Ayrshire, Clydesdale, Nithisdale, Annandale, every parish was visited by these turbulent zealots.
Macaulay. Zealotical
(Zea*lot"ic*al) a. Like, or suitable to, a zealot; ardently zealous. [R.] Strype.
Zealotism
(Zeal"ot*ism) n. The character or conduct of a zealot; zealotry.
Zealotist
(Zeal"ot*ist), n. A zealot. [Obs.] Howell.
Zealotry
(Zeal"ot*ry) n. The character and behavior of a zealot; excess of zeal; fanatical devotion to a
cause.
Enthusiasm, visionariness, seems the tendency of the German; zeal, zealotry, of the English; fanaticism,
of the French.
Coleridge. Zealous
(Zeal"ous) a. [LL. zelosus. See Zeal.]
1. Filled with, or characterized by, zeal; warmly engaged, or ardent, in behalf of an object.
He may be zealous in the salvation of souls.
Law. 2. Filled with religious zeal. [Obs.] Shak.
— Zeal"ous*ly, adv. — Zeal"ous*ness, n.
Zebec
(Ze"bec) n. (Naut.) See Xebec.
Zebra
(Ze"bra) n. [Pg. zebra; cf. Sp. cebra; probably from a native African name.] (Zoöl.) Either one
of two species of South African wild horses remarkable for having the body white or yellowish white, and
conspicuously marked with dark brown or brackish bands.
The true or mountain zebra (Equus, or Asinus, zebra) is nearly white, and the bands which cover the
body and legs are glossy black. Its tail has a tuft of black hair at the tip. It inhabits the mountains of
Central and Southern Africa, and is noted for its wariness and wildness, as well as for its swiftness.
The second species known as Burchell's zebra, and dauw, inhabits the grassy plains of South Africa,
and differs from the preceding in not having dark bands on the legs, while those on the body are more
irregular. It has a long tail, covered with long white flowing hair.
Zebra caterpillar, the larva of an American noctuid moth It is light yellow, with a broad black stripe on
the back and one on each side; the lateral stripes are crossed with withe lines. It feeds on cabbages,
beets, clover, and other cultivated plants. — Zebra opossum, the zebra wolf. See under Wolf. —
Zebra parrakeet, an Australian grass parrakeet, often kept as a cage bird. Its upper parts are mostly
pale greenish yellow, transversely barred with brownish black crescents; the under parts, rump, and upper
tail coverts, are bright green; two central tail feathers and the cheek patches are blue. Called also canary
parrot, scallop parrot, shell parrot, and undulated parrot. — Zebra poison (Bot.), a poisonous tree
(Euphorbia arborea) of the Spurge family, found in South Africa. Its milky juice is so poisonous that
zebras have been killed by drinking water in which its branches had been placed, and it is also used as
an arrow poison. J. Smith — Zebra shark. Same as Tiger shark, under Tiger. — Zebra spider,
a hunting spider. — Zebra swallowtail, a very large North American swallow-tailed butterfly in which
the wings are yellow, barred with black; — called also ajax. — Zebra wolf. See under Wolf.
