zestedadjective
Factsheet
Where does the adjective zested come from?
Earliest known use
mid 1700s
The earliest known use of the adjective zested is in the mid 1700s.
OED's earliest evidence for zested is from 1769, in the writing of Oliver Goldsmith, author.
How common is the adjective zested?
| 1770 | 0.0052 |
| 1780 | 0.0045 |
| 1790 | 0.0044 |
| 1800 | 0.0041 |
| 1810 | 0.0027 |
| 1820 | 0.0025 |
| 1830 | 0.0019 |
| 1840 | 0.0014 |
| 1850 | 0.0012 |
| 1860 | 0.0006 |
| 1870 | 0.0003 |
| 1880 | 0.0003 |
| 1890 | 0.00002 |
| 1900 | 0.00003 |
| 1910 | 0.00003 |
| 1920 | 0.00003 |
| 1930 | 0.00004 |
| 1940 | 0.00007 |
| 1950 | 0.00009 |
| 1960 | 0.0001 |
| 1970 | 0.0001 |
| 1980 | 0.0002 |
| 1990 | 0.0002 |
| 2000 | 0.0003 |
| 2010 | 0.0003 |
Nearby entries
- zero tillage, n.1963–
- zero tolerance, n.1940–
- zerovalent, adj.1906–
- zero waste, adj. & n.1974–
- zero-zero, adj. & n.1930–
- zerumbet, n.1640–
- zest, n.¹1674–
- zest, n.²1706
- zest, v.1702–
- zest, int.1705–22
- zested, adj.1769–
- zester, n.1963–
- zestful, adj.1797–
- zestfully, adv.1843–
- zestiness, n.1912–
- zesty, adj.1826–
- zeta, n.¹?a1425–
- zeta, n.²1706–1860
- zetacism, n.1860–
- zeta function, n.1879–
- zeta-ic, adj.1840–1927
Meaning & use
- 1769–See zest v.Stressed as ˈzested.
- 1769
One circumstance that might well..teach mankind to relish the beverage of virtue..above their most zested enjoyments.
O. Goldsmith, Roman History vol. II. 74 - 1877
Ah, what a supper it must have been! Bountiful, zested, racy, rare.
Harper's Magazine August 433/2 - 1919
Miss Matilda was aware of a slackening from the keen excitement and zested peril of their escape.
J. Russel, Where Pavement Ends (1921) 80 - 2016
Slice the zested grapefruit in half and press gently onto the rim of the glass.
S. Johansen, How to Hygge (2017) 154/1
- piquant1645–Stimulating or agreeable to the mind or senses; fascinating; charming.
- poignanta1657–Stimulating to the mind, feelings, or passions; pleasantly or delightfully piquant. Now rare except as merged in later use of 2a.
- French1682–With the implication of sexual adventurousness or explicitness. See also French letter, n., French tickler, n.
- flavorous1697–Full of flavour; pleasing to the taste and smell, savoury; ‘fragrant, odorous’ (Johnson).
- zested1769–
- zestful1797–figurative. Full of zest; invigorating, stimulating, enjoyable; lively, spirited; = zesty, adj. 2. Cf. zest, n.¹ 3, 4.
- pungent1850–Mentally stimulating or exciting; fascinating. Now rare.
- spicy1853–Exciting, exhilarating.
- zesty1853–figurative. Characterized by energy or vigour; lively, spirited; invigorating, stimulating. Cf. zest, n.¹ 3.
- juicy1883–figurative. Suggestive, esp. in a sexual way; piquant, racy, sensational. colloquial.
- nutty1894figurative. Pleasant, rich, full of zest; spicy or piquant in interest. Obsolete.
- sauced1894–With up. Of food: embellished or made more flavoursome by the addition of a sauce; (figurative) that has been embellished or made fancy or showy in…
- colourful1905–Full of or characterized by colour; esp. brightly coloured.
- zappy1969–Lively, amusing, energetic; striking.
Frequency
zested typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zested 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 of zested, adj., 1770–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1770 | 0.0052 |
| 1780 | 0.0045 |
| 1790 | 0.0044 |
| 1800 | 0.0041 |
| 1810 | 0.0027 |
| 1820 | 0.0025 |
| 1830 | 0.0019 |
| 1840 | 0.0014 |
| 1850 | 0.0012 |
| 1860 | 0.0006 |
| 1870 | 0.0003 |
| 1880 | 0.0003 |
| 1890 | 0.00002 |
| 1900 | 0.00003 |
| 1910 | 0.00003 |
| 1920 | 0.00003 |
| 1930 | 0.00004 |
| 1940 | 0.00007 |
| 1950 | 0.00009 |
| 1960 | 0.0001 |
| 1970 | 0.0001 |
| 1980 | 0.0002 |
| 1990 | 0.0002 |
| 2000 | 0.0003 |
| 2010 | 0.0003 |