zippiness, n.

zippiness
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zippiness_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2021

# zippinessnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zippiness mean?

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

### How common is the noun zippiness?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1910 | 0.00006
1920 | 0.00004
1930 | 0.00006
1940 | 0.00007
1950 | 0.0001
1960 | 0.0001
1970 | 0.0002
1980 | 0.0003
1990 | 0.0003
2000 | 0.0004
2010 | 0.0005

### Where does the noun zippiness come from?

Earliest known use

1900s

The earliest known use of the noun zippiness is in the 1900s.

OED's earliest evidence for zippiness is from 1907, in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

### Nearby entries

1. zippeite, n. 1850–
2. zipper, n. 1923–
3. zipper, v. 1927–
4. zippered, adj. 1926–
5. zipper foot, n. 1938–
6. zipperhead, n. 1967–
7. zipper problem, n. 1985–
8. Zippie, n.¹ 1968–
9. zippie, n.² 1986–
10. zippily, adv. 1924–
11. zippiness, n.1907–
12. zipping, n. 1868–
13. Zippo, n.¹ 1944–
14. zippo, n.² 1973–
15. zippy, adj. 1889–
16. zip tie, n. 1969–
17. zip-tie, v. 1985–
18. zip top, n. 1926–
19. zip-up, adj. & n. 1927–
20. zip wire, n. 1971–
21. zir, pron. 1993–

## Meaning & use

colloquial (originally U.S.).

1. 1907–
   The quality of being zippy (in various senses); speed, liveliness, zest, etc.
   Stressed as ˈzippiness.
   1. 1907

      > This week is a sizzer for talent and a binger [sic] of zippiness.

      Philadelphia Inquirer 18 November 12/2
   2. 1998

      > Brilliant zippiness and richness here.

      M. Gluck, Superplonk 1999 357
   3. 2018

      > It's nice to drive,..with a frugal and smooth new engine that gives it zippiness on the road.

      Canberra Times (Nexis) 28 April 79
   U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. wightness 1377–
      The quality of being ‘wight’; valour, courage, bravery; strength, might, force, vigour, energy; activity, agility, alacrity.
   2. vigorousness c1440–
      The quality or state of being vigorous; vigorous condition; vigour.
   3. zestfulness 1850–
   4. gutsiness 1893–
      a. Greediness, gluttony (1825 in Jamieson; 1898 in Eng. Dial. Dict.); b. energy, spirit; courage.
   5. thrustfulness 1907–
   6. zippiness 1907–
      The quality of being zippy (in various senses); speed, liveliness, zest, etc.
   7. vibrance 1934–
      = vibrancy, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. jolliness c1386–
      The state or quality of being jolly, in the various senses of the adjective; jollity.
   2. livelihead c1425–
      Liveliness; vivacity; = livelihood, n.² Now archaic and rare.
   3. quickness c1425–
      Animation; liveliness, briskness, vigour; freshness. Now rare except as merged with 2 and 3.
   4. vyfnes 1475
      Liveliness, vivacity.
   5. ramage c1485–1618
      Wildness, spirit; courage; fierceness.
   6. courage a1498–1705
      Spirit, liveliness, lustiness, vigour, vital force or energy; also figurative. Obsolete.
   7. liveliness 1534–
      Activity; vigour.
   8. sprite c1540–
      As a mass noun: strength of character or purpose; courage, boldness, assertiveness. Cf. spirit, n. I.ii.6. Now rare (chiefly Scottish, archaic, or p…
   9. livelihood 1566–
      = liveliness, n. (in various senses). Common in the 17th cent. In later use poetic and archaic.
   10. life 1583–
       A sense of vitality or energy conveyed in action, thought, or expression; liveliness in feeling, manner, or aspect; animation, vivacity, spirit…
   11. sprightliness 1599–
       The state, quality, or fact of being sprightly; vigour; liveliness, animation; vivacity. Also (occasionally) as a count noun: an example of this; a…
   12. sprightfulness 1602–
   13. ruach 1606–
       The spirit of God; the spirit of the living being, life force. Now also in weakened sense: vitality, liveliness. Cf. pneuma, n. 2.
   14. sprightiness 1607–10
       Liveliness, vigour. Cf. sprightliness, n.
   15. sparkle 1611–
       Brightness or liveliness of spirit; smartness; wittiness.
   16. airiness 1628–
       Liveliness of personal manner; cheerfulness, levity, frivolity.
   17. vivacy 1637–1719
       = vivacity, n.
   18. spiritfulness 1644–
       The character or quality of being spirited, lively, bold, or vigorous; cf. spiritful, adj. 1.
   19. spirit 1651–
       The quality of being lively or animated; vivacity. Of a person, or his or her actions, speech, etc. Cf. sense I.ii.7b.
   20. vivacity 1652–
       Vigorous or energetic action; activity, energy, vigour; spirit. Now rare.
   21. spiritedness 1654–
       The character or quality of being spirited, lively, or determined; liveliness, vivacity.
   22. brightness 1660–
       The quality of being cheerful, alert, or lively; vivacity, animation.
   23. sprightness 1660–
       Vigour, liveliness, animation; an instance of this; = sprightliness, n.
   24. ramageness 1686
       Boldness, courage, spirit; unruliness; (of a hawk) wildness.
   25. race 1690–1875
       figurative. A characteristic style or manner of speech, writing, etc.; liveliness, piquancy. Cf. raciness, n. 2a, racy, adj.¹ 3c. Obsolete.
   26. friskiness 1727–
       The quality or state of being frisky.
   27. spirituousness 1727–1896
       The state or quality of being lively, animated, or energetic; vitality. Cf. spirituosity, n. 2. Obsolete.
   28. vivaciousness 1727–
       Vivacity of manner or speech; liveliness, sprightliness.
   29. brio 1731–
       Liveliness, vivacity, ‘go’.
   30. raciness 1759–
       With reference to speech, writing, manner, etc.: vigour, liveliness, robustness; lack of inhibition, suggestive or slightly indecent content or…
   31. phlogiston 1789–
       figurative. Fiery or combustible quality. Now rare.
   32. animation 1791–
       Liveliness of aspect or manner; vivacity, sprightliness, brightness.
   33. lifefulness 1829–
   34. pepper-and-salt 1842–
       With reference to the pungency or biting quality of pepper: intensity (of feeling), spirit, vigour; ‘spice’. Cf. pepper, n. II.4b.
   35. corkiness 1845–
       State or quality of being ‘corky’, in different senses.
   36. aliveness 1853–
       The fact or quality of being alive; energy, animation, vigour.
   37. tricksiness 1853–
       Playfulness, sprightliness; mischievousness.
   38. vitality 1858–
       figurative. Active force or power; mental or physical vigour; activity, animation, liveliness.
   39. music 1859–
       U.S. colloquial. Originally: liveliness; excitement; fun, sport; (also) sense of the ridiculous (now rare). Later: trouble, disturbance. Cf. musical…
   40. virtu 1876–
       Chiefly with reference to the writings of Niccolò Machiavelli: the strength of character necessary for political or military success; forceful…
   41. liveness 1890–
       The quality or condition of being alive (in various senses). Also: liveliness.
   42. zippiness 1907–
       The quality of being zippy (in various senses); speed, liveliness, zest, etc.
   43. bounce 1909–
       figurative. Energy, vitality; spirit, exuberance, verve.
   44. zing 1917–
       Energy, enthusiasm, or vibrancy; a stimulating or invigorating quality which adds to the enjoyment or agreeableness of something.
   45. radioactivity 1922–
       figurative. A quality or state characterized by the communication of intense energy; (also) intense energy communicated by someone or something.
   46. oomph 1937–
       The quality of being exciting, energetic, or sexually attractive; energy, vigour.
   47. pizzazz 1937–
       An attractive combination of vitality and glamour; sparkle, effervescence; (also) flashiness, showiness.
   48. zinginess 1938–
       The quality of being zingy; energy, liveliness; zest, piquancy.
   49. hep 1946–
       Liveliness, pep, energy. Cf. hep, v. 2, hepped, adj. 2a.
   50. vavoom 1962–
       Vigour, sex-appeal; oomph.
   51. welly 1977–
       slang. Force, power; frequently in to give it some welly and variants.
   52. masala 1986–
       figurative. Indian English. Piquancy, pep, vigour, excitement.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. lightness c1350–
      The quality of moving lightly; agility, nimbleness, swiftness. Also figurative.
   2. quiverness?1548–81
      Quickness, nimbleness, agility.
   3. smartness 1644–
      Vigour, force; speed, briskness; liveliness, activity, alertness.
   4. briskness a1655–
      The quality of being brisk; smartness or sharpness of motion; liveliness, quickness, activity.
   5. zippiness 1907–
      The quality of being zippy (in various senses); speed, liveliness, zest, etc.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zippiness typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zippiness 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 data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zippiness, n., 1910–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1910 | 0.00006
1920 | 0.00004
1930 | 0.00006
1940 | 0.00007
1950 | 0.0001
1960 | 0.0001
1970 | 0.0002
1980 | 0.0003
1990 | 0.0003
2000 | 0.0004
2010 | 0.0005

Originally published as part of the entry for zippy, adj.

zippy, adj. was revised in March 2021.