zygosphenaladjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective zygosphenal mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adjective zygosphenal. 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 adjective zygosphenal?
| 1850 | 0.0016 |
| 1860 | 0.0013 |
| 1870 | 0.0011 |
| 1880 | 0.0009 |
| 1890 | 0.0008 |
| 1900 | 0.0006 |
| 1910 | 0.0004 |
| 1920 | 0.0001 |
| 1930 | 0.0001 |
| 1940 | 0.0002 |
| 1950 | 0.0002 |
| 1960 | 0.0001 |
| 1970 | 0.0001 |
| 1980 | 0.0002 |
| 1990 | 0.0002 |
| 2000 | 0.0003 |
| 2010 | 0.0002 |
Where does the adjective zygosphenal come from?
Earliest known use
1850s
The earliest known use of the adjective zygosphenal is in the 1850s.
OED's only evidence for zygosphenal is from 1854, in the writing of Richard Owen, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.
Nearby entries
- zygophiuran, adj. & n.1892–
- zygophore, n.1904–
- zygophyllaceous, adj.1887–
- zygophyte, n.1885–
- zygopleura, n.1883–
- zygopterid, n. & adj.1900–
- zygosis, n.1880–
- zygosity, n.1952–
- zygosome, n.1905–
- zygosperm, n.1880–
- zygosphenal, adj.1854–
- zygosphene, n.1854–
- zygosphere, n.1880–
- zygospondyline, adj.1892–
- zygospore, n.1864–
- zygosporic, adj.1906–
- zygostat, n.1623
- zygostatical, adj.1656
- zygostyle, n.1881–
- zygote, n.1891–
- zygotene, n.1911–
Meaning & use
- 1854–Belonging to or constituting a zygosphene.Stressed as zygoˈsphenal.
- 1854
Surfaces to which the zygosphenal surfaces are adapted.
R. Owen, Structure of Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle of Sciences: Organic Nature vol. I. 197
the world animals reptiles order Squamata (lizards and snakes) [adjectives] of parts of members of Squamata- zygosphenal1854–Belonging to or constituting a zygosphene.
Frequency
zygosphenal typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zygosphenal 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 zygosphenal, adj., 1850–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1850 | 0.0016 |
| 1860 | 0.0013 |
| 1870 | 0.0011 |
| 1880 | 0.0009 |
| 1890 | 0.0008 |
| 1900 | 0.0006 |
| 1910 | 0.0004 |
| 1920 | 0.0001 |
| 1930 | 0.0001 |
| 1940 | 0.0002 |
| 1950 | 0.0002 |
| 1960 | 0.0001 |
| 1970 | 0.0001 |
| 1980 | 0.0002 |
| 1990 | 0.0002 |
| 2000 | 0.0003 |
| 2010 | 0.0002 |