zipponoun2 (& adjective)
Factsheet
What does the noun zippo mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zippo. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
This word is used in North American English.
How common is the noun zippo?
| 1970 | 0.0061 |
| 1980 | 0.0068 |
| 1990 | 0.0068 |
| 2000 | 0.0068 |
| 2010 | 0.008 |
How is the noun zippo pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun zippo come from?
Earliest known use
1970s
The earliest known use of the noun zippo is in the 1970s.
OED's earliest evidence for zippo is from 1973, in Province (Vancouver).
Nearby entries
- zippered, adj.1926–
- zipper foot, n.1938–
- zipperhead, n.1967–
- zipper problem, n.1985–
- Zippie, n.¹1968–
- zippie, n.²1986–
- zippily, adv.1924–
- zippiness, n.1907–
- zipping, n.1868–
- Zippo, n.¹1944–
- zippo, n.²1973–
- zippy, adj.1889–
- zip tie, n.1969–
- zip-tie, v.1985–
- zip top, n.1926–
- zip-up, adj. & n.1927–
- zip wire, n.1971–
- zir, pron.1993–
- zir, adj.1993–
- ziraleet, n.1794–
- ziram, n.1950–
Etymology
Meaning & use
- 1973–
- 1973
Last fall, Cablevision’s Channel 10 carried coverage of the Miss Nude contest here... Reaction from the viewers: zippo. No one upset, no one ranting or raving. The crime rate didn’t increase.
Province (Vancouver) 27 March 33/1 - 1989
How much did I make from all this? Zippo.
P. Lynch & J. Rothchild, One up on Wall Street 91 - 1999
Everyone knew who they were. True—but they still got zippo respect.
L. Alison, Backstreet Boys: Now & Forever 5 - 2017
Turnbull was civil and professional, and look what it got him. Zero, zippo, zilch.
Yukon News (Nexis) 3 February a6
- nanyOld English–1450Not any, no.
- noneOld English–Not any; = no, adj. 1. Now archaic and Scottish (rare).
- none-kinsOld English–1500No kind of, not any, no.
- no (none) suchOld English–no (†none) such adj., rarely †no such a; absolute or as pronoun now only none such (cf. none such, no… No (person or thing) of the kind; none of the…
- nolate Old English–With a singular or plural noun. Not any. Accompanied by other negatives, with overall negative force (sometimes with more emphasis than a single…
- no kina1400–1598No kind of, not any, no.
- zero1823–In sense A.3a.
- nix1846–= no, adj. Esp. in phrases representing Anglicization of German phrases, as nix fish-tins, etc.
- nought1945–Zero; no, not any.
- bugger-all1948–Not any; absolutely no; very little.
- damn all1953–Absolutely no; not any. Also in weakened sense: very little.
- fuck-all1961–coarse slang. Absolutely no; not any. Also as an intensifier (cf. fucking, adj. A.2).
- eff-all1965–= fuck-all, adj.
- zilch1969–In attributive use. Absolutely no; not any.
- zip1969–Absolutely no; not any. Cf. zilch, adj. B.2.
- zippo1973–Nothing at all; nought, zero. Also as adj.: no, not any, zero. Cf. zip, n.², zilch, n.
- sod all1978–Not any; absolutely no; very little.
- negative1984–colloquial (originally U.S. Services' slang). Designating an absolute lack of something; = no, adj. 1b.
- noughtOld English–That which does not exist, nothingness. Cf. naught, pron. A.1. Now archaic and rare.
- devil hae'tc1590–Not a whit; very little; nothing at all. Cf. devil a haet at haet, n. 1a.
- neither tip nor toe: not a particle or trace, none at all.
- nix1781–Nothing; nobody.
- damn the haet1787–damn the haet (formerly also †damned haet): nothing at all. Cf. damn all, n.
- no nothing1815–colloquial. no nothing: absolutely nothing, nothing at all.
- zero1823–Nil, no amount; none at all.
- all1842–In various formations modelled on damn all (see damn all, n.), in which damn is replaced with other swear words, oaths, and expletives, or…
- In collocation with hair, esp. in (in) hide and hair: wholly, entirely; neither hide nor hair: nothing whatever. (So Dutch huid en haar.)
- zip1900–Nothing at all, zero; (in negative constructions) anything at all; the least thing. Cf. zilch, n.
- nixie1906–= nix, n.¹ B.a. rare.
- niente1908–Nothing (more), not anything. Also as int.
- damn all1910–Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
- fuck-all1916–coarse slang. Nothing at all; (in negative constructions) anything at all; the least thing. Also sweet fuck all (cf. Fanny Adams, n. 2, S.F.A., n.).
- Fanny Adams1919–slang. Nothing at all. Chiefly in sweet Fanny Adams in the same sense.
- bugger-all1921–Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
- S.F.A.1933–Sweet Fanny Adams (cf. F.A., n., Fanny Adams, n. 2).
- not a sausage1938–transferred and figurative. Colloquial phrase not a sausage (and variants), nothing at all.
- shit1949–Now chiefly coarse slang. In negative contexts: anything at all, the least thing. In positive contexts: nothing at all.
- zilch1956–Nothing at all, zero; (in negative constructions) anything at all; the least thing. Cf. zip, n.²
- eff-all1958–= fuck-all, n.
- sod all1958–Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
- diddly-squat1963–As a count noun: a thing of little value or significance; esp. in not to give a diddly-squat. As a mass noun: nothing at all; (in negative…
- diddly1964–= diddly-squat, n.
- jack-all1965–Nothing at all; (in negative constructions) anything at all; the least thing. Cf. jackshit, n., jack squat, n.
- zippo1973–Nothing at all; nought, zero. Also as adj.: no, not any, zero. Cf. zip, n.², zilch, n.
- feck-all1975–= fuck-all, n.
- hee-haw1975–Scottish colloquial. Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
- naff all1977–Nothing at all. Frequently euphemistic for fuck-all, n.
- jack squat1986–Nothing at all; (in negative constructions) anything at all. Cf. jack-all, n., jackshit, n.
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. English
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
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
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
zippo typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zippo is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zippo, n.², 1970–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0061 |
| 1980 | 0.0068 |
| 1990 | 0.0068 |
| 2000 | 0.0068 |
| 2010 | 0.008 |