Z-bed, n.

z-bed
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/z-bed_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2005

# Z-bednoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Z-bed mean?

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

This word is used in British English.

### Where does the noun Z-bed come from?

Earliest known use

1970s

The earliest known use of the noun Z-bed is in the 1970s.

OED's earliest evidence for Z-bed is from 1973, in the Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin).

### Nearby entries

1. zat, n. 1934–
2. zatch, n. 1950–
3. zawiya, n. 1836–
4. zawn, n. 1865–
5. zayat, n. 1823–
6. zayde, n. 1946–
7. zazen, n. 1727–
8. zazzy, adj. 1961–
9. Z band, n. 1950–
10. ZBB, n. 1976–
11. Z-bed, n.1973–
12. Z-car, n. 1961–
13. Z-day, n. 1925–
14. Z-DNA, n. 1979–
15. ze, pron. 1864–
16. zea, n. 1562–
17. zeagonite, n. 1823–
18. zeal, n. a1382–
19. zeal, v. 1542–1687
20. Zealander, n.¹ 1663–
21. Zealander, n.² 1773–

## Meaning & use

Chiefly British (also with lower-case initial).

1. 1973–
   A type of occasional bed with a three-part metal frame which folds up for storage; (also more generally) any of various types of portable folding bed; cf. zedbed n.
   1. 1973

      > For sale: 1970 VW Bus with sun roof and Z-bed.

      Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern 20 September 31/2 (advertisement)
   2. 2001

      > ‘I'd rather sleep on the floor than share with Joe’, said David, hurling himself onto the damp Z-bed under the window.

      L. Voss, To be Someone 174
   British English
   1. trussing bed 1398–
   2. letacamp 1494–1574
      A camp-bed. Also attributive in letacamp-bed.
   3. trussing bedstead 1535–
   4. truss-bed 1541
      ? = trussing bed, n.
   5. field bed 1567–
      A portable or folding bed, originally for use by a soldier in the field; a camp bed. In later use also: a bed with an arched canopy and covered sides…
   6. camp-bed 1690–
      A bed or bedstead for use in field-service; hence spec. a bedstead made to fold up within a narrow space; a trestle bedstead.
   7. travelling bed 1706–
      A portable or folding bed used when travelling.
   8. camp cot 1785–
      = camp-bed, n.
   9. camp-bedstead 1825–
   10. stretcher-bed 1842–
   11. stretcher 1893–
       A folding bed or bedstead chiefly for camp or hospital use; also (chiefly Australian and New Zealand), a camp-bed used as a spare bed in a house…
   12. stretcher-bedstead 1895–
       A folding bed, chiefly for camp or barrack use (cf. stretcher, n. II.9).
   13. safari bed 1936–
       (Cf. camp-bed, n.).
   14. zedbed 1954–
       A type of occasional bed with a three-part metal frame which folds up for storage; (also more generally) any of various types of portable folding… A proprietary name in the United States.
   15. Z-bed 1973–
       A type of occasional bed with a three-part metal frame which folds up for storage; (also more generally) any of various types of portable folding…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

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

Z-bed, n. was first published in 2005.