zelo
Portuguese, noun
zelo is spelled Z-E-L-O (4 letters) and appears 2.0 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 22,247th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Zelo is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “special care and dedication for someone or something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first-person singular present indicative of zelar. With an accent, zêlo is a different word: “pre-reform spelling (used until 1971 in Brazil and 1945 in Portugal)…”. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “dedicação ardente, afeição íntima, desvelo, cuidado, interesse”.
What does zelo mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculinespecial care and dedication for someone or something
- 2
masculinediligence (carefulness and attention in doing something)
- 3
masculinezeal (fervour or devotion)
verb
- 1
first-person singular present indicative of zelar
noun
- 1
masculinepre-reform spelling (used until 1971 in Brazil and 1945 in Portugal) of zelo
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. dedicação ardente, afeição íntima, desvelo, cuidado, interesse
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of zelo
- zelos plural
- zêlo alternative
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to zelo
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is zelo in Portuguese?
zelo appears 2.0 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).