Few vices are so frequently misnamed as envy. In ordinary conversation, we routinely confuse envy with jealousy and covetousness. Yet the distinction is not merely semantic, because each disorders our relationship to the good in a different way. Covetousness reaches for a good we lack; jealousy guards a good we claim; envy grieves because another person possesses a good. At its worst, envy would rather see that good destroyed than enjoyed by someone else.
First, envy is not the same thing as jealousy. In common conversation, the two are often confused, but the difference is not inconsequential. Jealousy is ultimately derived from the Greek word zelos, meaning, among other things, ardent love or fervor. For that reason, you can be jealous of something that you already possess, like a car or your good reputation. Jealousy, unlike envy, does not necessarily refer to another's possessions.
