zorrino, n.

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

# zorrinonoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zorrino mean?

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

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1900 | 0.0004
1910 | 0.0004
1920 | 0.0004
1930 | 0.0004
1940 | 0.0004
1950 | 0.0004
1960 | 0.0003
1970 | 0.0002
1980 | 0.0002
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0002
2010 | 0.0002

### Where does the noun zorrino come from?

Earliest known use

1880s

The earliest known use of the noun zorrino is in the 1880s.

OED's earliest evidence for zorrino is from 1885, in Encyclopædia Britannica.

### Nearby entries

1. Zorb, n. 1996–
2. zorbing, n. 1996–
3. zorgite, n. 1852–
4. zori, n.?1823–
5. zoril, n. 1774–
6. Zoroastrian, adj. & n. 1597–
7. Zoroastrianism, n. 1832–
8. Zoroastrianize, v. 1891–
9. Zoroastric, adj. a1739–
10. Zoroastrism, n. 1819–
11. zorrino, n.1885–
12. zorro, n. 1838–
13. zos-grass, n. 1937–
14. zoster, n. 1601–
15. zostera, n. 1819–
16. zosterops, n. 1867–
17. Zouave, n. 1848–
18. zouk, n. 1986–
19. zounds, v. 1680
20. zounds, int. a1593–
21. Zou-Zou, n. 1860–

## Etymology

Diminutive.

## Meaning & use

1. 1885–
   A kind of skunk (cf. zoril n.), or its fur.
   Stressed as zoˈrrino.
   1. 1885

      > The zorro or Canis Azaræ (a kind of fox), the zorrino or Mephitis patagonica (a kind of skunk), and the tuco-tuco or Ctenomys magellanicus.

      Encyclopædia Britannica vol. XVIII. 353/1
   2. 1899

      > Furs in great variety (chinchilla, vicuna, guanaco, zorrino, lynx, leopard, alpaca, &c.).

      Westminster Gazette 17 June 7/1
   animals
   1. polecat 1605–
      Also with unmarked plural. Any of various other mustelids of the genus Mustela or other genera; esp. (North American) a skunk. Frequently with…
   2. skunk 1634–
      A weasel-like mammal of North America, Mephitis mephitis, having black and white striped fur and a bushy tail, and able to spray a foul-smelling…
   3. huffer 1729
      A quadruped: ? a kind of skunk. Obsolete.
   4. skunk weasel 1771–1832
      (Thomas Pennant's name for) the striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis; cf. skunk, n. 1.
   5. mouffette 1774–1833
      A skunk.
   6. chinche 1780–1901
      A skunk.
   7. stinking polecat 1791–
      One of the skunks or Mustelidæ.
   8. mephitic weasel 1827
      The skunk, Mephitis mephitis.
   9. essence-peddler 1838–
      a. A pedlar of medicines; b. transferred a skunk.
   10. zorrino 1885–
       A kind of skunk (cf. zoril, n.), or its fur.
   11. skunklet 1888–
       A young skunk.
   12. wood-pussy 1899–
       A skunk.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

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

zorrino 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 zorrino, n., 1900–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1900 | 0.0004
1910 | 0.0004
1920 | 0.0004
1930 | 0.0004
1940 | 0.0004
1950 | 0.0004
1960 | 0.0003
1970 | 0.0002
1980 | 0.0002
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0002
2010 | 0.0002

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

zorro, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.