Some of the old words for contemporaries sound like a meaningless set of letters. They have long gone out of use and today are found only in textbooks, dictionaries, and in the vocabulary of older people. And how to figure it out against such a background: this is a zealous worker, but that one is not very? What is the characteristic to contrast the bright epithet and when? A small philological study will help to cope with the situation and answer all questions.
What does the master do?
The term under investigation comes from the verb “to grow up,” and then from the Old Russian root. Similar concepts are found in many East Slavic languages. So, in Slovenian related meanings for “zealous” is:
It implies the goodwill of a person, his independent desire to do something. At the same time in Polish you can find raczyć, which translates:
Which implies the hospitality of the house, hospitality.
When is the characteristic relevant?
Sometimes situations arise in which the wording seems inappropriate. Today you can hear a lot of kind words about a zealous owner, but nothing about the same employee. The reason was the merger of two independent and self-sufficient interpretations. Now in the foreground is the meaning:
- appropriate;
- economic;
- careful.
A colorful outdated concept indicates a sensible person who knows the count of money and knows how to efficiently spend resources. However, at the same time, there is another decryption:
- diligent;
- caring;
- diligent.
There is no contradiction. If the conversation is about running a peasant farm, managing a manor or a large corporation, then the owner is a prudent one - that’s good. He carefully monitors the slightest changes in the market and takes care of possible difficulties in advance.
On the other hand, there is a less popular and also appropriate option for designating an ordinary employee - a simple accountant who does not play a role in decision-making, but whose firm cares about filling out the documents depends on the future of the company, the absence of hypothetical problems with the tax service or credit organizations.
How to speak?
As part of everyday communication, there is no need to score a vocabulary. To meet the sonorous definition of “zealous" is a great success. It decorates speech, gives a touch of sophistication, but harmoniously looks only in the surroundings of a theatrical production or a novel about past centuries. In the lips of modern man, the book term seems to be atavism and an attempt to evasively, without specificity, describe the merits of a particular person.