zygomorphousadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective zygomorphous mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adjective zygomorphous. 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 zygomorphous?
| 1870 | 0.003 |
| 1880 | 0.0028 |
| 1890 | 0.0025 |
| 1900 | 0.0028 |
| 1910 | 0.0028 |
| 1920 | 0.0019 |
| 1930 | 0.0021 |
| 1940 | 0.0017 |
| 1950 | 0.0015 |
| 1960 | 0.0014 |
| 1970 | 0.0007 |
| 1980 | 0.0006 |
| 1990 | 0.0004 |
| 2000 | 0.0001 |
| 2010 | 0.0001 |
Where does the adjective zygomorphous come from?
Earliest known use
1870s
The earliest known use of the adjective zygomorphous is in the 1870s.
OED's only evidence for zygomorphous is from 1879, in the writing of Asa Gray, botanist.
Nearby entries
- zygodont, adj.1888–
- zygogenesis, n.1950–
- zygology, n.1970–
- zygoma, n.1684–
- zygomatic, adj. & n.1712–
- zygomatico-, comb. form
- zygomato-, comb. form
- zygomere, n.1966–
- zygomorphic, adj.1875–
- zygomorphism, n.1875–
- zygomorphous, adj.1879–
- Zygomycetes, n.1887–
- zygomycetous, adj.1928–
- zygon, n.1886–
- zygonema, n.1911–
- zygoneurous, adj.1901–
- zygophiuran, adj. & n.1892–
- zygophore, n.1904–
- zygophyllaceous, adj.1887–
- zygophyte, n.1885–
- zygopleura, n.1883–
Meaning & use
- 1879–Opposed to actinomorphous adj.Stressed as zygoˈmorphous.
- 1879
Both these forms [sc. monosymmetrical and polysymmetrical] have a more expressive and older terminology, adopted by Eichler, viz.:—Zygomorphous, for flowers, or other structures, which can be bisected in one plane,..(median zygomorphous, when this is a median or anteroposterior plane,..transverse zygomorphous, when the plane of section is transverse or at right angles to the median).
A. Gray in A. Gray & G. L. Goodale, Botanical Text-book (ed. 6) vol. I. 175 (note)
the world plants part of plant reproductive part(s) flower or part containing reproductive organs [adjectives] having specific arrangement or number of member parts- regular1760–Botany. Of a flower, corolla, calyx, etc.: having its parts uniform in form and size; radially symmetric.
- decandrous1808–Characterized by ten stamens.
- irregular1826–Botany and Zoology. Not having a definite, symmetrical, or uniform shape or arrangement; spec. of a flower, Having the members of the same cycle…
- tetramerous1835–Having, consisting of, or characterized by four parts: spec.. Botany. Having the parts of the flower-whorl in series of four. (Often written 4-merous…
- hendecagynous1845–89Having eleven pistils.
- pentamerous1848–Botany. Having five parts, or parts in groups or multiples of five. (Often written 5-merous.)
- symmetrical1849–Botany. Of a flower: Having the same number of parts in each whorl: = isomerous, adj. 1.
- hexamerous1857–Botany. Having the parts of the flower-whorl six in number. (Often written 6-merous.)
- isomerous1857–Botany. Of a flower: Having the same number of parts in each whorl. (Said also of the whorls.) Opposed to heteromerous, adj. 2b.
- octamerous1857–Having parts arranged in groups of eight; having eight parts of a particular type.
- anisomerous1861–Not having equal, or the same number of, parts, unsymmetrical; esp. in Bot. having unequal numbers of parts in different whorls.
- octomeral1871–Having parts arranged in groups of eight; = octamerous, adj.
- hemicyclic1875–Applied to flowers which have the parts arranged spirally in such a manner that the transition from one series to another (e.g. from petals to…
- zygomorphic1875–Applied to a flower that is symmetrical about a single plane, i.e. divisible into similar lateral halves in only one way; = monosymmetrical, adj.
- haplostemonous1878–(Of a plant or a flower) having a single whorl or row of stamens; cf. diplostemonous, adj.
- zygomorphous1879–Opposed to actinomorphous, adj.
- tetracyclic1880–Having four cycles or circles; spec. in Botany, having four whorls of floral organs.
- heteromerous1882–Botany. Applied to flowers in which the members differ in number in the different whorls: opposed to isomerous.
- five-merous1888–= pentamerous, adj.
- heterocyclic1895–Botany. = heteromerous, adj. 2b.
- oligomerous1897–Botany. Having fewer divisions or parts than normal.
- pleiomerous1898–Of a floral whorl or flower: having more than the normal number of parts.
- Having ten sepals.
Frequency
zygomorphous typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zygomorphous 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 zygomorphous, adj., 1870–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.003 |
| 1880 | 0.0028 |
| 1890 | 0.0025 |
| 1900 | 0.0028 |
| 1910 | 0.0028 |
| 1920 | 0.0019 |
| 1930 | 0.0021 |
| 1940 | 0.0017 |
| 1950 | 0.0015 |
| 1960 | 0.0014 |
| 1970 | 0.0007 |
| 1980 | 0.0006 |
| 1990 | 0.0004 |
| 2000 | 0.0001 |
| 2010 | 0.0001 |