Zurich, n.

zurich
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zurich_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# Zurichnoun

## Earlier version

- Zurich in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zurich mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun Zurich. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, 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 is the noun Zurich pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈz(j)ʊərɪk/
ZYOOR-ik
/ˈtsjʊərɪx/
TSYOOR-ikh

#### U.S. English

/ˈzurɪk/
ZOOR-ik

### Where does the noun Zurich come from?

Earliest known use

1870s

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

OED's earliest evidence for Zurich is from 1870, in the writing of Charlotte Schreiber, translator, businesswoman, and collector.

From a proper name.

Etymons: proper name Zurich.

### Nearby entries

1. Zuludom, n. 1867–
2. Zulu hat, n. 1879–
3. Zuluize, v. 1852–
4. Zulu time, n. 1959–
5. zumbador, n. 1758–64
6. zumbi, n. 1704–
7. zumboorukchee, n. 1840–
8. Zuñi, n. 1834–
9. zunyite, n. 1885–
10. zuppa, n. 1961–
11. Zurich, n.1870–
12. Zuricher, n. 1673–
13. zurla, n. 1940–
14. zurlite, n. 1826–
15. zurna, n. 1870–
16. zurr, n. 1803–
17. zussmanite, n. 1965–
18. zut, int. 1915–
19. zuur-veldt, n. 1785–
20. zuz, n. 1688–
21. zwanziger, n. 1828–

## Etymology

### Summary

From a proper name.
Etymon: proper name Zurich.
< Zurich (German Zürich), the name of a city on Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

## Meaning & use

1. 1. a.
      1870–
      Used attributively to designate porcelain manufactured in Zurich in the eighteenth century.
      1. 1870

         > Crispin still possessed the Zurich cups we saw there two years ago.

         C. Schreiber, Journal 18 February (1911) vol. I. 71
      2. 1875

         > Some very pretty Zurich écuelles.

         C. Schreiber, Journal 26 February (1911) vol. I. 360
      3. 1897

         > Mr. H. Angst..has the most important collection of Zurich porcelain known.

         Chaffers's Marks & Monograms Pottery & Porcelain (ed. 8) 530
      4. 1949

         > Zurich porcelain at its best shows a belated Rococo and a rare beauty of colour.

         W. B. Honey, European Ceramic Art 42
      5. 1981

         > Among features in the sale..were..Zurich porcelains.

         Times 25 May 10/5
      6. 1981

         > £3,721, for an attractive Zurich hunting group of about 1770.

         Times 25 May 10/5
      ceramics
      1. Nuremberg 1617–
         attributive. Designating a type of porcelain manufactured in Nuremberg.
      2. St. Cloud 1721–
         Used attributively to designate porcelain or faïence made at St. Cloud, Seine-et-Oise, in the late-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
      3. Dresden 1735–
         Used attributively or absol. to designate a variety of white porcelain made at Meissen near Dresden, or an object made of this, characterized by…
      4. Limoges 1844–
         Used (frequently attributively) to designate painted enamels, porcelain, etc., made in Limoges.
      5. Capo di Monte 1850–
         Applied attributively to a type of porcelain first produced in Naples in the mid-eighteenth century. Also used absol. and elliptically.
      6. Frankenthal 1863–
         The designation of a porcelain made at Frankenthal from the middle to the end of the eighteenth century.
      7. Zurich 1870–
         Used attributively to designate porcelain manufactured in Zurich in the eighteenth century.
      8. Rosenthal 1898–
         attributive. Designating porcelain (esp. tableware and figurines) manufactured at the Rosenthal factory or by the Rosenthal company. A proprietary name. Now an independent company within Waterford Wedgwood Holding.
      9. Copenhagen 1911–
         Used attributively of porcelain manufactured in Copenhagen since the mid-eighteenth century. Also elliptical.
      View in Historical Thesaurus
   2. b.
      1970–
      Zurich gnome noun
      See gnome n.2 1c.
      1. 1970

         > I arranged to ‘buy’ it from our Swiss agent, a nice Zurich gnome.

         K. Giles, Death in Church vii. 168
      2. 1972

         > I certainly wasn't going to break up the Zurich gnome's marriage—not even for money.

         D. Lees, Zodiac 11
      3. 1981

         > Those who really believe in Zürich gnomes and see in each day's gold fixing the action of some giant hidden hand.

         ‘D. Jordan’, Double Red ii. 14
      finance
      1. gnome 1964–
         colloquial. An international financier or banker, spec. one who is Swiss; esp. in the gnomes of Zurich.
      2. Zurich gnome 1970–
         See gnome, n.² 1c.
      3. zaitech 1986–
         Investment in financial markets by a company as a means of supplementing the earnings which it receives from its principal operations.
      View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈz(j)ʊərɪk/
ZYOOR-ik
/ˈtsjʊərɪx/
TSYOOR-ikh

### U.S. English

/ˈzurɪk/
ZOOR-ik

####

##### 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

## Forms

### Inflections

Also: Zürich

### Variant forms

Also

1. Zürich

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. Zuricher, n. 1673–
   A native or inhabitant of Zurich.

Zurich, n. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

Zurich, n. was last modified in July 2023.