zinc-foilnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zinc-foil mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zinc-foil. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
Entry status
OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.
How common is the noun zinc-foil?
| 1840 | 0.0037 |
| 1850 | 0.0037 |
| 1860 | 0.0035 |
| 1870 | 0.0034 |
| 1880 | 0.0033 |
| 1890 | 0.0029 |
| 1900 | 0.0025 |
| 1910 | 0.0015 |
| 1920 | 0.001 |
| 1930 | 0.0006 |
| 1940 | 0.0002 |
| 1950 | 0.0001 |
| 1960 | 0.00006 |
| 1970 | 0.00009 |
| 1980 | 0.0001 |
| 1990 | 0.0001 |
| 2000 | 0.00009 |
| 2010 | 0.00008 |
Where does the noun zinc-foil come from?
Earliest known use
1850s
The earliest known use of the noun zinc-foil is in the 1850s.
OED's only evidence for zinc-foil is from 1851, in a translation by Henry Watts, chemist.
Nearby entries
- zinc-alum, n.1851–
- zinc-amide, n.1859–
- zincate, n.1872–
- zinc-blende, n.1842–
- zinc-bloom, n.1842–
- zinc chloride, n.1851–
- zinc chromate, n.1851–
- zinc chrome, n.1892–
- zinc-dust, n.1877–
- zinc finger, n.1987–
- zinc-foil, n.1851–
- zinc green, n.1847–
- zinc-grey | zinc-gray, n.1881–
- zincian, adj.1930–
- zincic, adj.1860–
- zinciferous, adj.1820–
- zincification, n.1891–
- zincify, v.1801–
- zinc-iron, n. & adj.1849–
- zincite, n.1854–
- zinckenite, n.1835–
Meaning & use
- 1851–Thin sheet zinc.
- 1851
To obtain zinc-plate, or zinc-foil, the metal cast in a tabular form is heated in a boiling solution of common salt, and then passed between rollers.
H. Watts, translation of L. Gmelin, Hand-book of Chemistry vol. V. 4
society occupation and work materials derived or manufactured material metal base metal [nouns] zinc in thin sheets- zinc-plate1823–= zinc-foil, n.
- zinc-foil1851–Thin sheet zinc.
Frequency
zinc-foil typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zinc-foil is in frequency band 1, which contains words occurring fewer than 0.001 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zinc-foil, n., 1840–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1840 | 0.0037 |
| 1850 | 0.0037 |
| 1860 | 0.0035 |
| 1870 | 0.0034 |
| 1880 | 0.0033 |
| 1890 | 0.0029 |
| 1900 | 0.0025 |
| 1910 | 0.0015 |
| 1920 | 0.001 |
| 1930 | 0.0006 |
| 1940 | 0.0002 |
| 1950 | 0.0001 |
| 1960 | 0.00006 |
| 1970 | 0.00009 |
| 1980 | 0.0001 |
| 1990 | 0.0001 |
| 2000 | 0.00009 |
| 2010 | 0.00008 |