zero-dimensional, adj.

zero-dimensional
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zero-dimensional_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2017

# zero-dimensionaladjective

## Factsheet

### What does the adjective zero-dimensional mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective zero-dimensional. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the adjective zero-dimensional?

About 0.03occurrences per million words in modern written English

1890 | 0.0007
1900 | 0.0014
1910 | 0.0013
1920 | 0.0029
1930 | 0.0045
1940 | 0.0057
1950 | 0.0088
1960 | 0.014
1970 | 0.02
1980 | 0.026
1990 | 0.029
2000 | 0.032
2010 | 0.037

### Where does the adjective zero-dimensional come from?

Earliest known use

1880s

The earliest known use of the adjective zero-dimensional is in the 1880s.

OED's earliest evidence for zero-dimensional is from 1880, in American Journal of Mathematics.

### Nearby entries

1. zero beat, n. 1920–
2. zero-carbon, adj. 1990–
3. zero-coupon, adj. 1979–
4. zero creep, n. 1904–
5. zero crossing, n. 1941–
6. zero day, n. 1917–
7. zero-defect, adj. 1964–
8. zero derivation, n. 1960–
9. zero derivative, adj. & n. 1948–
10. zero-derived, adj. 1971–
11. zero-dimensional, adj.1880–
12. zero-emission, n. & adj. 1952–
13. zero-energy, adj. 1947–
14. zero-field, adj. 1915–
15. zero-G, adj. & n. 1950–
16. zero grade, n. 1888–
17. zero gravity, n. & adj. 1915–
18. zero-graze, v. 1954–
19. zero-grazed, adj. 1958–
20. zero grazing, n. 1954–
21. zero growth, n. 1907–

## Meaning & use

Mathematics.

1. 1880–
   a. (Describing a point) having no extent in any direction; b. having a dimension (dimension n. Additions) of zero.
   1. 1880

      > On arriving at zero-dimensional space, the function reduces to the simple identity Φ = 1 −1 = 0.

      American Journal of Mathematics vol. 3 5
   2. 1945

      > One and the same field..can be used to reduce any of them to a zero-dimensional ideal.

      Annals of Mathematics vol. 46 404
   3. 1955

      > There is also no contradiction in regarding the one-dimensional line as consisting of zero-dimensional points.

      Science Monthly November 236/1
   4. 2005

      > Every zero-dimensional space is a totally disconnected Hausdorff space.

      V. Runde, Taste of Topology iii. 99
   5. 2016

      > The point is zero-dimensional, whereas each line is one-dimensional and the plane is two-dimensional.

      E. Smith & H. J. Morowitz, Origin & Nature of Life on Earth v. 334 (footnote)
   mathematics

## Frequency

zero-dimensional typically occurs about 0.03 times per million words in modern written English.

zero-dimensional is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 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 zero-dimensional, adj., 1890–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1890 | 0.0007
1900 | 0.0014
1910 | 0.0013
1920 | 0.0029
1930 | 0.0045
1940 | 0.0057
1950 | 0.0088
1960 | 0.014
1970 | 0.02
1980 | 0.026
1990 | 0.029
2000 | 0.032
2010 | 0.037

Originally published as part of the entry for zero, n. & adj.

zero-dimensional, adj. was first published in 2017.