zoomelanin, n.

zoomelanin
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zoomelanin_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2017

# zoomelaninnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zoomelanin mean?

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

### How is the noun zoomelanin pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌzuːə(ʊ)ˈmɛlənɪn/
zoo-oh-MEL-uh-nin
/ˌzəʊə(ʊ)ˈmɛlənɪn/
zoh-oh-MEL-uh-nin

#### U.S. English

/ˌzoʊəˈmɛlənən/
zoh-uh-MEL-uh-nuhn
/ˌzuəˈmɛlənən/
zoo-uh-MEL-uh-nuhn

### Where does the noun zoomelanin come from?

Earliest known use

1850s

The earliest known use of the noun zoomelanin is in the 1850s.

OED's earliest evidence for zoomelanin is from 1858, in National Magazine.

### Nearby entries

1. zoom, int. 1856–
2. zoomable, adj. 1972–
3. zoomagnetism, n. 1824–
4. zooman, n. 1871–
5. zoomancy, n. 1888–
6. zoomania, n. 1807–
7. zoomantist, n. 1861
8. Zoomar, n. 1946–
9. zoomechanical, adj. 1897
10. zoomechanics, n. 1888–1903
11. zoomelanin, n.1858–
12. zoometric, adj. 1892–
13. zoometry, n. 1878–
14. zooming, n. 1892–
15. zooming, adj. 1904–
16. zoom lens, n. 1932–
17. zoomorph, n. 1883–
18. zoomorphic, adj. 1849–
19. zoomorphism, n. 1822–
20. zoomorphize, v. 1940–
21. zoomorphizing, n. 1895–

## Etymology

After French zoomélanine (1857 or earlier). A. Bogdanov does not use the French term in his paper in Bull. de la Soc. Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou (1856) vol. 29 459 ff.

## Meaning & use

Now rare.

1. 1858–
   A dark-coloured pigment found in animals, esp. in the feathers of certain birds; cf. melanin n.
   1. 1858

      > M. Bogdanow surmises that the zoomelanine, or black pigment, may be identical with melanine, or black colouring-matter found in the choroid membrane.

      National Magazine vol. 4 128/1
   2. 1900

      > Such a specimen shows the complete absence of the pigment known as ‘zoomelanin’, and..the appearance is white.

      Victorian Naturalist vol. 16 160
   3. 1952

      > Zoomelanin—the black pigment found in the feathers of many birds.

      Laurens (Iowa) Sun 25 September
   birds
   1. zoomelanin 1858–
      A dark-coloured pigment found in animals, esp. in the feathers of certain birds; cf. melanin, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌzuːə(ʊ)ˈmɛlənɪn/
zoo-oh-MEL-uh-nin
/ˌzəʊə(ʊ)ˈmɛlənɪn/
zoh-oh-MEL-uh-nin

### U.S. English

/ˌzoʊəˈmɛlənən/
zoh-uh-MEL-uh-nuhn
/ˌzuəˈmɛlənən/
zoo-uh-MEL-uh-nuhn

####

##### 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 /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### 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 /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### 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

Originally published as part of the entry for zoo-, comb. form

zoo-, comb. form was revised in June 2017.