zither-like, adj.

zither-like
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zither-like_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2021

# zither-likeadjective

## Factsheet

### What does the adjective zither-like mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adjective zither-like. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the adjective zither-like?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1880 | 0.0005
1890 | 0.0008
1900 | 0.0008
1910 | 0.0009
1920 | 0.0009
1930 | 0.0011
1940 | 0.0012
1950 | 0.0014
1960 | 0.0012
1970 | 0.0013
1980 | 0.0013
1990 | 0.0013
2000 | 0.0013
2010 | 0.0011

### Where does the adjective zither-like come from?

Earliest known use

1880s

The earliest known use of the adjective zither-like is in the 1880s.

OED's earliest evidence for zither-like is from 1881, in a translation by E. E. Frewer.

### Nearby entries

1. zit, n. 1912–
2. zit cream, n. 1968–
3. zitella, n. a1660–
4. zit-face, n. 1974–
5. zit-faced, adj. 1971–
6. zither, n. 1831–
7. zither, v. 1889–
8. zither banjo, n. 1888–
9. zithering, adj. 1889–
10. zitherist, n. 1866–
11. zither-like, adj.1881–
12. ziti, n. 1845–
13. zitty, adj. 1971–
14. Ziv, n. a1382–
15. zizania, n. 1526–
16. zizany, n. a1400–1803
17. zizel, n. 1775–
18. zizypha, n. 1546–1775
19. zizyphus, n.?1440–
20. zizz, v. 1883–
21. zizz, int. & n. 1824–

## Meaning & use

1. 1881–
   Resembling or reminiscent of a zither.
   Stressed as ˈzither-like.
   1. 1881

      > Besides the three kinds of drums, the myrimbas, and the zither-like sylimbas, I noticed that the orchestra included some stringed instruments made of the ribs of fan-palms.

      E. E. Frewer, translation of E. Holub, Seven Years in South Africa vol. II. vii. 170
   2. 1938

      > There is an ancient Chinese instrument called the ch'in, which is long and zither-like, with seven strings.

      G. H. Danton, Chinese People vi. 182
   3. 1963

      > The performer plucked the strings which produced sweet, gentle, zither-like tones.

      American Music Teacher vol. 12 18/2
   4. 2003

      > Then a solo qanun began to play, a zither-like instrument which set up a shimmering vibration of notes.

      W. Buonaventura, I put Spell on You 262

## Frequency

zither-like typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zither-like 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 data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zither-like, adj., 1880–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1880 | 0.0005
1890 | 0.0008
1900 | 0.0008
1910 | 0.0009
1920 | 0.0009
1930 | 0.0011
1940 | 0.0012
1950 | 0.0014
1960 | 0.0012
1970 | 0.0013
1980 | 0.0013
1990 | 0.0013
2000 | 0.0013
2010 | 0.0011

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

zither-like, adj. was first published in 2021.