Definition Essay On Passion

Passion

The word “passion” is of multiple origins. It originally came from the classical Latin word, “passio” which implied suffering. This word has shifted quite a bit over the past thousands of years. In the second half of the 10th century it was modified to the “suffering of a martyr”. Specifically referring to the suffering of Christ in the end of the 10th century. In the beginning of the 12th century, the word passion referred to physical suffering. And in the beginning of the 16th century, this word was denoted as “zeal”, which meant “a passionate eagerness in favor of a person or cause”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The word passion is very intriguing because there are a very few people in this world who grasp the real meaning of the word. The word passion is used today to describe strong emotions or feelings toward something or someone. Today, whenever people think of the word passion, they think of a strong emotion but they would never associate it with the word “suffering”. The Oxford English Dictionary offers several different meanings of the word passion that has been used over a millennium.

In the beginning of the 12th century, passion meant physical pain and suffering. Passion is described as "senses relating to physical suffering and pain”. More specifically, the

Author and poet, James Shelley, writes, “To be passionate, truly passionate, demands a willingness to suffer for the object or cause of your passion. It is unswerving commitment in spite of pain and loss”. He is implying that without suffering, there is no passion. Which brings us back to the original definition, “the sufferings on Jesus Christ”. If Jesus did not suffer on the cross, he would not have had a passionate and zealous love for his children. Because he was passionate, he was willing to suffer for the