zule | zulisnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zule mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zule. 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 noun zule?
| 1800 | 0.0005 |
| 1810 | 0.0006 |
| 1820 | 0.0005 |
| 1830 | 0.0005 |
| 1840 | 0.0004 |
| 1850 | 0.0004 |
| 1860 | 0.0004 |
| 1870 | 0.0003 |
| 1880 | 0.0002 |
| 1890 | 0.0001 |
| 1900 | 0.0002 |
| 1910 | 0.0001 |
| 1920 | 0.0002 |
| 1930 | 0.0002 |
| 1940 | 0.0002 |
| 1950 | 0.0002 |
| 1960 | 0.0002 |
| 1970 | 0.0002 |
| 1980 | 0.0002 |
| 1990 | 0.0002 |
| 2000 | 0.0001 |
| 2010 | 0.0001 |
How is the noun zule pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun zule come from?
Earliest known use
late 1700s
The earliest known use of the noun zule is in the late 1700s.
OED's earliest evidence for zule is from 1780, in the writing of Joseph Edmondson, herald and coach-painter.
Perhaps from a proper name.
Etymons: proper name Zuilestein.
Nearby entries
- zucca, n.1818–
- zucchetto, n.1853–
- zucchini, n.1916–
- zuche, n.1358–1676
- Zuckerkandl, n.1910–
- zufolo, n.1724–
- zug, n.1899–
- zugtrompete, n.1978–
- Zugunruhe, n.1950–
- Zugzwang, n.1904–
- zule | zulis, n.1780–
- Zulu, n. & adj.1824–
- Zulu, v.1882–
- Zuludom, n.1867–
- Zulu hat, n.1879–
- Zuluize, v.1852–
- Zulu time, n.1959–
- zumbador, n.1758–64
- zumbi, n.1704–
- zumboorukchee, n.1840–
- Zuñi, n.1834–
Etymology
Summary
Notes
Meaning & use
- 1780–A chess rook as a bearing.
- 1780
Zulis, a German bearing, nearly resembling a chess-rook.
J. Edmondson, Complete Body of Heraldry vol. II - 1874
Gu. three zules (chess rooks?) arg. in chief a label of three points of the last.
J. W. Papworth & A. W. Morant, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms 1125/2
society communication indication insignia heraldic devices collective other heraldic representations [nouns] chess-rook- zule1780–A chess rook as a bearing.
- chess-rook1863–
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. English
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.
Consonants
b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values
- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige
Vowels
- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot
Forms
Variant forms
- 1700szulis
- 1800szule
Frequency
zule typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zule 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 zule | zulis, n., 1800–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1800 | 0.0005 |
| 1810 | 0.0006 |
| 1820 | 0.0005 |
| 1830 | 0.0005 |
| 1840 | 0.0004 |
| 1850 | 0.0004 |
| 1860 | 0.0004 |
| 1870 | 0.0003 |
| 1880 | 0.0002 |
| 1890 | 0.0001 |
| 1900 | 0.0002 |
| 1910 | 0.0001 |
| 1920 | 0.0002 |
| 1930 | 0.0002 |
| 1940 | 0.0002 |
| 1950 | 0.0002 |
| 1960 | 0.0002 |
| 1970 | 0.0002 |
| 1980 | 0.0002 |
| 1990 | 0.0002 |
| 2000 | 0.0001 |
| 2010 | 0.0001 |