zosteranoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zostera mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zostera. 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 zostera?
| 1810 | 0.0066 |
| 1820 | 0.0083 |
| 1830 | 0.0099 |
| 1840 | 0.01 |
| 1850 | 0.01 |
| 1860 | 0.01 |
| 1870 | 0.0094 |
| 1880 | 0.0091 |
| 1890 | 0.0075 |
| 1900 | 0.0054 |
| 1910 | 0.0041 |
| 1920 | 0.0035 |
| 1930 | 0.0032 |
| 1940 | 0.003 |
| 1950 | 0.0026 |
| 1960 | 0.0021 |
| 1970 | 0.0018 |
| 1980 | 0.0015 |
| 1990 | 0.0013 |
| 2000 | 0.0012 |
| 2010 | 0.001 |
How is the noun zostera pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zostera come from?
Earliest known use
1810s
The earliest known use of the noun zostera is in the 1810s.
OED's earliest evidence for zostera is from 1819, in a translation by John Lindley, botanist and horticulturist.
zostera is a borrowing from Latin.
Nearby entries
- zoril, n.1774–
- Zoroastrian, adj. & n.1597–
- Zoroastrianism, n.1832–
- Zoroastrianize, v.1891–
- Zoroastric, adj.a1739–
- Zoroastrism, n.1819–
- zorrino, n.1885–
- zorro, n.1838–
- zos-grass, n.1937–
- zoster, n.1601–
- zostera, n.1819–
- zosterops, n.1867–
- Zouave, n.1848–
- zouk, n.1986–
- zounds, v.1680
- zounds, int.a1593–
- Zou-Zou, n.1860–
- zowie, int.1902–
- zoysia, n.1965–
- ZPG, n.1970–
- Zr, n.1814–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1819–A marine plant of the genus so named, esp. grasswrack, Z. marina.
- 1819
The kernel of Zostera is an oblong oval.
J. Lindley, translation of L.-C. Richard, Observations on Structure of Fruits & Seeds 54 - 1855
The delicate green ribbons of the Zostera (the only English flowering plant which grows beneath the sea).
C. Kingsley, Glaucus 57 - 1858
The thin line of dry Zostera to be met with at high-water mark.
Phytologist November 601 - 1865
I have found it often in Zostera beds at low tide.
Mrs. L. L. Clarke, Common Seaweeds ii. 30
- sweet-grass1577–Any kind of grass (or herb called ‘grass’) of a sweet taste serving as fodder; spec. a book-name for the genus Glyceria; also locally, the woodruff, A…
- grass wrack1633–A common seagrass native to coastal waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, Zostera marina, having long, thin, grass-like leaves.
- grass weed1658–a. (More fully sea grass weed) any of several seagrasses or aquatic plants; spec. grass wrack, Zostera marina; b. any of various plants which…
- eel-grass1790–A plant with long narrow leaves: (a) = grass wrack, n.; (b) = tape-grass, n.; (c) figurative.
- zostera1819–A marine plant of the genus so named, esp. grasswrack, Z. marina.
- sea-wrack grass1836–Zostera marina.
- wigeon grass1857–(Chiefly in form widgeon grass) (originally) a type of seagrass growing along the coastlines of North America and Eurasia, Zostera marina (family Z…
- sea-grass1858–One of various plants and seaweeds growing in the sea: (a) a pondweed, Ruppia maritima; (b) the eel-grass or grass-wrack, Zostera marina; also, the…
- wigeon weed1893–(Chiefly in form widgeon weed) = wigeon grass, n.
- zos-grass1937–= zostera, n.
Pronunciation
British 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.
Frequency
zostera typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zostera 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 zostera, n., 1810–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1810 | 0.0066 |
| 1820 | 0.0083 |
| 1830 | 0.0099 |
| 1840 | 0.01 |
| 1850 | 0.01 |
| 1860 | 0.01 |
| 1870 | 0.0094 |
| 1880 | 0.0091 |
| 1890 | 0.0075 |
| 1900 | 0.0054 |
| 1910 | 0.0041 |
| 1920 | 0.0035 |
| 1930 | 0.0032 |
| 1940 | 0.003 |
| 1950 | 0.0026 |
| 1960 | 0.0021 |
| 1970 | 0.0018 |
| 1980 | 0.0015 |
| 1990 | 0.0013 |
| 2000 | 0.0012 |
| 2010 | 0.001 |
Compounds & derived words
- zos-grass, n. 1937–= zostera, n.