zero-length, adj.

zero-length
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zero-length_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zero-lengthadjective

## Factsheet

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

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

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

About 0.02occurrences per million words in modern written English

1940 | 0.0079
1950 | 0.0084
1960 | 0.011
1970 | 0.015
1980 | 0.019
1990 | 0.021
2000 | 0.024
2010 | 0.028

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

Earliest known use

1940s

The earliest known use of the adjective zero-length is in the 1940s.

OED's earliest evidence for zero-length is from 1945, in Military Review.

### Nearby entries

1. zero grade, n. 1888–
2. zero gravity, n. & adj. 1915–
3. zero-graze, v. 1954–
4. zero-grazed, adj. 1958–
5. zero grazing, n. 1954–
6. zero growth, n. 1907–
7. zero hour, n. 1915–
8. zero-hours, adj. 1988–
9. zeroing, n. 1906–
10. zeroize, v. 1894–
11. zero-length, adj.1945–
12. zero-line, n. 1834–
13. zero magnet, n. 1890–
14. zero mark, n. 1821–
15. zero meridian, n. 1849–
16. zero norm, n. 1966–
17. zero option, n. 1976–
18. zero-order, adj. 1919–
19. zero plane, n. 1842–
20. zero point, n. 1789–
21. zero-point energy, n. 1913–

## Meaning & use

Aeronautics (now chiefly historical).

1. 1945–
   Of or relating to a launching system in which aircraft or missiles are launched from a mobile platform, without travelling along it for any significant distance, using rocket boosters as a source of thrust; (also) designating such a launch or launcher, or the (short) fittings supporting the rocket boosters.
   In a zero-length launching system the very first motion of the aircraft or missile causes it to disconnect from the launcher. In later use also used to contrast launches from mobile platforms with those requiring a runway.
   1. 1945

      > Lighter, more streamlined rails were used as aircraft launchers... The ‘zero length’ rail was developed consisting of only a front and rear streamlined stud or part which supported the rocket beneath the wing and supported it for only a fraction of an inch of its initial travel.

      Military Review November 24/2
   2. 1954

      > A later G.A.P.A. [sc. ground-to-air pilotless aircraft] rocket being adjusted on a ‘zero-length’ launcher.

      K. W. Gatland, Development of Guided Missile (ed. 2) iii. 79 (caption)
   3. 1960

      > One of the primary advantages of the zero-length launching technique is that the aircraft requires no guidance during launching.

      U.S. Patent 2,922,602 1
   4. 2004

      > In zero-length launch of aircraft, the jet engine is used with a rocket motor to accelerate the aircraft to flying speed in a brief interval of time.

      U.S. Patent 6,695,251 B2 1
   gunnery and firearms aviation historical
   1. zero-length 1945–
      Of or relating to a launching system in which aircraft or missiles are launched from a mobile platform, without travelling along it for any…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zero-length typically occurs about 0.02 times per million words in modern written English.

zero-length 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-length, adj., 1940–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1940 | 0.0079
1950 | 0.0084
1960 | 0.011
1970 | 0.015
1980 | 0.019
1990 | 0.021
2000 | 0.024
2010 | 0.028

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

zero, n. & adj. was revised in June 2018.