zebra mussel, n.

zebra-mussel
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zebra-mussel_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zebra musselnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zebra mussel mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zebra mussel. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the noun zebra mussel?

About 0.06occurrences per million words in modern written English

1870 | 0.0006
1880 | 0.0005
1890 | 0.0004
1900 | 0.0004
1910 | 0.0004
1920 | 0.0005
1930 | 0.0007
1940 | 0.001
1950 | 0.0013
1960 | 0.02
1970 | 0.035
1980 | 0.051
1990 | 0.06
2000 | 0.071
2010 | 0.088

### How is the noun zebra mussel pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɛbrə mʌsl/
ZEB-ruh muss-uhl
/ˈziːbrə mʌsl/
ZEE-bruh muss-uhl

#### U.S. English

/ˈzibrə ˌməs(ə)l/
ZEE-bruh muss-uhl

### Where does the noun zebra mussel come from?

Earliest known use

1860s

The earliest known use of the noun zebra mussel is in the 1860s.

OED's earliest evidence for zebra mussel is from 1866, in the writing of Ralph Tate.

zebra mussel is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: zebra n., mussel n.

### Nearby entries

1. zebra caterpillar, n. 1841–
2. zebra crossing, n. 1934–
3. zebra danio, n. 1917–
4. zebraed, adj. 1806–
5. zebra finch, n. 1868–
6. zebrafish, n. 1771–
7. zebraic, adj. 1858–
8. zebra marking, n. 1854–
9. zebra moray, n. 1933–
10. zebra mule, n. 1841–
11. zebra mussel, n.1866–
12. zebrano, n. 1908–
13. zebra opossum, n. 1808–
14. zebra parakeet, n. 1856–
15. zebra plant, n. 1826–
16. zebra poison, n. 1871–74
17. zebra print, n. & adj. 1932–
18. zebra rhomb, n. 1770–1844
19. zebra rock, n. 1895–
20. zebra rush, n. 1882–
21. zebra shark, n. 1804–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by compounding.
< zebra n. + mussel n.

## Meaning & use

1. 1866–
   A small freshwater mussel with a striped pattern on the shell, Dreissena polymorpha (family Dreissenidae), native to the Black Sea and Caspian Sea but now considered an invasive species in many countries.
   1. 1866

      > The Zebra Mussel made its appearance in the neighbourhood of Gloucester a few years after the opening of the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal.

      R. Tate, Plain & Easy Account Mollusks of Great Britain ii. 23
   2. 1899

      > The zebra mussel is a native of the rivers of Southern Russia.

      Speaker 18 February 204/1
   3. 1938

      > Larger organisms, such as..the zebra mussel, may find their way into exposed water on the feet of birds.

      Lancet 5 February 357/1
   4. 1959

      > The organism most likely to be mistaken for a rotifer is the planktonic larva of Dreissena , the Zebra Mussel.

      T. T. Macan, Guide to Freshwater Invertebrate Animals 10
   5. 2013

      > Thames Water is removing hundreds of tons of zebra mussels from the 8ft wide tunnels.

      Daily Telegraph 16 September 35/5
   shells and shellfish
   1. mussel Old English–
      Any of numerous bivalve molluscs found worldwide, typically having a brown or blackish shell and belonging chiefly to the orders Mytiloida (marine…
   2. palour 1589–1880
      Any of various kinds of cockle, mussel, or other (esp. edible) bivalve mollusc.
   3. pearl mussel 1607–
      A mussel from which pearls may be obtained, esp. a freshwater mussel of the family Unionidae.
   4. hen a1613–
      Any of several edible bivalve molluscs: †(a) British regional a scallop of the genus Chlamys, and the surf clam, Spisula solida (obsolete); (b) Nort…
   5. horse-mussel 1626–
      A large and coarse kind of mussel of the genus Modiola; (also) a freshwater mussel, Unio or Anodonta.
   6. clam 1672–
      A name applied to various bivalve shellfish. In North America, applied esp. to two species, the Hard or Round Clam (Venus mercenaria), and the…
   7. clamp 1672
      An earlier name of the edible Clams of North America.
   8. pearl shell 1781
      A shell which is lined with nacre or mother-of-pearl; the substance of such shells, as a material or commodity. Also: a mollusc which produces…
   9. glam 1797
      Apparently: a clam (clam, n.² 1).
   10. naiad 1829–
       Zoology. Chiefly North American. A freshwater mussel or shell, as distinguished from a marine one. Usually in plural, in form naiades. Cf. naid, n.…
   11. naid 1854
       Zoology. A freshwater mussel. Cf. naiad, n. 2. Obsolete. rare.
   12. unionid 1861–
       A bivalve mollusc of the family Unionidae; a unio.
   13. zebra mussel 1866–
       A small freshwater mussel with a striped pattern on the shell, Dreissena polymorpha (family Dreissenidae), native to the Black Sea and Caspian Sea…
   14. unionoid 1891–
       A mollusc of the family Unionidae or order Unionoida; a freshwater mussel.
   15. hackleback 1899–
       U.S. regional. A North American freshwater mussel, Lasmigona complanata, with rough ridges on the shell. Now rare.
   16. maple leaf 1908–
       U.S. An edible freshwater mussel, Quadrula quadrula (family Unionidae), found chiefly in the Mississippi Valley.
   17. monkey-face 1936–
       U.S. A freshwater mussel, Quadrula metanevra (family Unionidae), with a yellow to light brown shell, found in medium to large rivers in parts of…
   18. unioid 1987–
       = unionoid, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɛbrə mʌsl/
ZEB-ruh muss-uhl
/ˈziːbrə mʌsl/
ZEE-bruh muss-uhl

### U.S. English

/ˈzibrə ˌməs(ə)l/
ZEE-bruh muss-uhl

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Frequency

zebra mussel typically occurs about 0.06 times per million words in modern written English.

zebra mussel is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zebra mussel, n., 1870–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1870 | 0.0006
1880 | 0.0005
1890 | 0.0004
1900 | 0.0004
1910 | 0.0004
1920 | 0.0005
1930 | 0.0007
1940 | 0.001
1950 | 0.0013
1960 | 0.02
1970 | 0.035
1980 | 0.051
1990 | 0.06
2000 | 0.071
2010 | 0.088

### Frequency of zebra mussel, n., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.093
2018 | 0.081
2019 | 0.093
2020 | 0.09
2021 | 0.088
2022 | 0.086
2023 | 0.096
2024 | 0.081

Originally published as part of the entry for zebra, n.

zebra mussel, n. was revised in June 2018.

zebra mussel, n. was last modified in July 2023.