zealot — ODE · Shobdo

zealot /ˈzɛlət

▸ noun

1 a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.

2 historical (Zealot) a member of an ancient Jewish sect that aimed at a world Jewish theocracy and resisted the Romans until AD 70.

– ORIGIN late Middle English (as an epithet of the apostle Simon): via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek zēlōtēs, from zēloun ‘be zealous’, from zēlos (see zeal).