zonkingadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective zonking mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adjective zonking. 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 zonking?
| 1950 | 0.00007 |
| 1960 | 0.00007 |
| 1970 | 0.00007 |
| 1980 | 0.00008 |
| 1990 | 0.00009 |
| 2000 | 0.00009 |
| 2010 | 0.0001 |
Where does the adjective zonking come from?
Earliest known use
1950s
The earliest known use of the adjective zonking is in the 1950s.
OED's earliest evidence for zonking is from 1958, in the Spectator.
Nearby entries
- zone time, n.1908–
- Zonian, n.1910–
- zonic, adj.1797–
- zoning, n.a1821–
- zonite, n.1860–
- zonitic, adj.1888–
- zonk, v.1950–
- zonk, int.1949–
- zonked, adj.1959–
- zonkey, n.1953–
- zonking, adj.1958–
- zonky, adj.1972–
- zono-, comb. form
- zonochlorite, n.1872–
- zonociliate, adj.1885–
- zonoplacental, adj.1879–
- zonular, adj.1835–
- zonule, n.1828–
- zonulet, n.1648
- zonure, n.1883–
- zoo, n.1835–
Meaning & use
- 1958–See zonk v.Frequently as quasi-adv. in zonking great.Stressed as ˈzonking.
- 1958
He would give one a zonking great clip on the ear.
Spectator 25 July 130/2 - 1959
She was now technically a ‘star’ owing to her zonking success as Claudia.
P. Bull, I know Face vi. 100 - 1959
She..is a zonking great film star.
P. Bull, I know Face vii. 126 - 1973
Long Day's Journey..was the first big, zonking part he played after his cancer.
Daily Telegraph 9 February (Colour Supplement) 36/4 - 1976
Rather than play these zonking great parts..I will try to find some dazzling little cameo roles.
Times 21 May 4/7
the world relative properties quantity greatness of quantity, amount, or degree [adjectives] vast, immense, or huge and amazing- ferlya1400Wonderfully great.
- wonderfulc1540Full of wonder; such as to excite wonder or astonishment; marvellous; sometimes used trivially = surprisingly large, fine, excellent, etc.
- stupendiousa1549–Amazing, extremely impressive; very large or great; extraordinarily good or pleasing; = stupendous, adj.
- portentous1553–Prodigious, marvellous; monstrous, extraordinary. Now rare.
- stupenduous1610–Amazing, extremely impressive; very large or great; extraordinarily good or pleasing; = stupendous, adj.
- stupendous1618–Astonishingly or exceedingly great in size, degree, or amount; tremendous, prodigious, enormous.
- stupend1621–1864Stupendous; astonishing, amazing; extraordinarily large or great.
- tremendous1813–Hyperbolically, or as a mere intensive: Such as to excite wonder on account of its magnitude or violence; astounding; extraordinarily great…
- awesome1838–Originally colloquial (Scottish and U.S.). In weakened use: staggering, prodigious, huge; remarkable… In neutral or negative contexts.
- devastating1889–That devastates. Frequently figurative, esp. in trivial or hyperbolical use: very effective or upsetting; astounding, overwhelming, ‘stunning’. Cf…
- dizzy1896–Startling, astonishing, vivid. slang.
- doozy1903–Remarkable, excellent; also, amazing, incredible.
- staggering1934–In transitive senses: Causing to reel or totter; confounding, perplexing; hence in trivial use: amazing, astounding; enormous.
- eyewatering1950–figurative (originally U.S.). That inspires a strong emotional response; astonishing, exciting, shocking, etc. Now: esp. (of a figure or amount)…
- zonking great1958–
- stonking1980–Excellent, amazing; considerable, powerful.
Frequency
zonking typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zonking 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 zonking, adj., 1950–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.00007 |
| 1960 | 0.00007 |
| 1970 | 0.00007 |
| 1980 | 0.00008 |
| 1990 | 0.00009 |
| 2000 | 0.00009 |
| 2010 | 0.0001 |