zygomorphism, n.

zygomorphism
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zygomorphism_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zygomorphismnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zygomorphism mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zygomorphism. 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 zygomorphism?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1870 | 0.0024
1880 | 0.0023
1890 | 0.002
1900 | 0.0018
1910 | 0.0019
1920 | 0.0016
1930 | 0.0011
1940 | 0.001
1950 | 0.0009
1960 | 0.0008
1970 | 0.0008
1980 | 0.0005
1990 | 0.0004
2000 | 0.0004
2010 | 0.0003

### Where does the noun zygomorphism come from?

Earliest known use

1870s

The earliest known use of the noun zygomorphism is in the 1870s.

OED's only evidence for zygomorphism is from 1875, in a translation by Alfred Bennett, botanist and publisher, and William Thiselton-Dyer, botanist.

### Nearby entries

1. zygodactylous, adj. 1828–
2. zygodont, adj. 1888–
3. zygogenesis, n. 1950–
4. zygology, n. 1970–
5. zygoma, n. 1684–
6. zygomatic, adj. & n. 1712–
7. zygomatico-, comb. form
8. zygomato-, comb. form
9. zygomere, n. 1966–
10. zygomorphic, adj. 1875–
11. zygomorphism, n.1875–
12. zygomorphous, adj. 1879–
13. Zygomycetes, n. 1887–
14. zygomycetous, adj. 1928–
15. zygon, n. 1886–
16. zygonema, n. 1911–
17. zygoneurous, adj. 1901–
18. zygophiuran, adj. & n. 1892–
19. zygophore, n. 1904–
20. zygophyllaceous, adj. 1887–
21. zygophyte, n. 1885–

## Meaning & use

Botany.

1. 1875–
   The character of being zygomorphic.
   Stressed as zygoˈmorphism.
   1. 1875

      > The zygomorphism of the flower.

      A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer, translation of J. von Sachs, Text-book of Botany 534
   plants
   1. monosymmetry 1875–
      The condition of being monosymmetric.
   2. polysymmetry 1875–
      Botany. The condition of being polysymmetrical.
   3. zygomorphism 1875–
      The character of being zygomorphic.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zygomorphism typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

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

### Frequency of zygomorphism, 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 | 0.0024
1880 | 0.0023
1890 | 0.002
1900 | 0.0018
1910 | 0.0019
1920 | 0.0016
1930 | 0.0011
1940 | 0.001
1950 | 0.0009
1960 | 0.0008
1970 | 0.0008
1980 | 0.0005
1990 | 0.0004
2000 | 0.0004
2010 | 0.0003

Originally published as part of the entry for zygomorphic, adj.

zygomorphic, adj. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.