Zephirannoun
Factsheet
What does the noun Zephiran mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun Zephiran. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun Zephiran?
| 1930 | 0.063 |
| 1940 | 0.063 |
| 1950 | 0.057 |
| 1960 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 0.051 |
| 1980 | 0.045 |
| 1990 | 0.035 |
| 2000 | 0.022 |
| 2010 | 0.012 |
How is the noun Zephiran pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun Zephiran come from?
Earliest known use
1930s
The earliest known use of the noun Zephiran is in the 1930s.
OED's earliest evidence for Zephiran is from 1935, in Trade Marks Journal.
Zephiran is apparently a borrowing from German.
Etymons: German Zephirol.
Nearby entries
- zenzizenzicubic, adj.a1690
- zenzizenzizenzic, n.1557–1690
- zeolite, n.1770–
- zeolitic, adj.1782–
- zeolitical, adj.1788–
- zeolitically, adv.1926–
- zeolitiform, adj.1788–
- zeolitization, n.1879–
- zeolitize, v.1881–
- zeolitized, adj.1888–
- Zephiran, n.1935–
- Zéphirine Drouhin, n.1901–
- zephyr, n.Old English–
- zephyr, v.1829–
- zephyranth, n.1845–
- zephyranthes, n.1821–
- zephyrean, adj.1793–
- zephyret, n.1777–1881
- zephyr flower, n.?1829–
- zephyr-gale, n.1596–1901
- zephyrian, adj.1661–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1935–A preparation of benzalkonium chloride used as an antiseptic.
- 1935
Zephiran... Chemical substances prepared for use in medicine and pharmacy. Bayer Products Limited,..London, E.C.2; merchants and manufacturers.
Trade Marks Journal 17 July 887/1 - 1951
Benzalkonium chloride (Zephiran) is of comparatively low toxicity.
A. Grollman, Pharmacology & Therapeutics xxv. 503 - 1974
Iodine tincture.., Zephiran, and hexachlorophene are representative examples of local anti-infective agents.
M. C. Gerald, Pharmacology xxvi. 448 - 2010
High-molecular-weight quaternary ammonium compounds such as..Zephiran are still widely used.
Burns vol. 36 302/1
the world health healing medicines or physic medicines for specific purpose antiseptic [nouns] specific- naphthalene1821–A crystalline aromatic compound, C10H8, with a molecule consisting of two fused six-membered rings and a pungent, tar-like smell, which is obtained…
- carbolic acid1835–= phenol, n. 1; esp. phenol used as a disinfectant. In later use frequently historical.
- creosote1835–A colourless oily liquid, of complex composition, with odour like that of smoked meat, and burning taste, obtained from the distillation of…
- Sanitas1878–(See quot. 1897.)
- chlorocresol1886–Any of various chlorine derivatives of cresols; esp. the derivative C7H7ClO, a white crystalline compound used as an antiseptic and preservative.
- salol1887–A white, crystalline, aromatic powder, prepared from salicylic and carbolic acids, used as an antipyretic and antiseptic. Also in combinations.
- aminol1889–96A gas formed by the action of calcium hydroxide on certain amines (esp. those obtained from brine in which herring has been cured); (also) an…
- Listerine1889–An antiseptic solution (see quot. 1889).
- salufer1894–Silicofluoride of sodium, used as an antiseptic.
- Airol1895–A greyish-green powder consisting of a basic iodide and gallate of bismuth, used chiefly as a topical antiseptic, either in solid form or as an…
- fluorol1895–Medicine. Sodium fluoride used as an antiseptic. Now disused.
- thymoform1899–A yellowish antiseptic powder prepared from formaldehyde and thymol.
- xeroform1901–See quot.
- triformol1907–A commercial name of paraformaldehyde (see para-, prefix¹ affix 3), used as an antiseptic.
- thymoloform1911–= thymoform, n.
- hexamine1914–= hexamethylenetetramine, n.
- Eusol1915–A solution of chlorinated lime and boric acid that is used as a general antiseptic.
- flavine1917–Pharmacology. Any of an ill-defined series of yellow acridine derivatives used as antiseptics, esp. the chloride or other salt of…
- proflavine1917–An acridine dye used as an antiseptic for the skin and in experimental studies of mutagenesis.
- Dakin1920–Used in the possessive to designate a solution of sodium hypochlorite used as an antiseptic, or a dressing saturated in this fluid.
- naphtha1920–Naphthalene, esp. as used in mothballs.
- methenamine1926–Chiefly Pharmacology. The compound hexamethylenetetramine, (CH2)6N4, or a derivative of this (often with mandelic acid), esp. when used as a urinary…
- T.C.P.1934–The proprietary name of a disinfectant.
- Zephiran1935–A preparation of benzalkonium chloride used as an antiseptic.
- leptazol1946–A white, crystalline, bicyclic compound, C6H10N4, which stimulates the respiratory and motor centres, is used as an analeptic, especially after…
- cetrimide1948–A preparation of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, used as an antiseptic and sterilizing detergent.
- nalidixic acid1962–A bicyclic pyridine derivative used as an antiseptic which inhibits bacterial reproduction, given orally in the treatment of infections of the…
- clioquinol1967–A halogenated derivative of quinoline that has been used as an antiseptic to treat mild ear infections, intestinal amoebiasis, diarrhoea, and skin…
- crystal violet1996–A synthetic violet dye used as a stain in microscopy and as an antiseptic in the treatment of skin infections.
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
- 1900s–Zephiran, Zephyran
Frequency
Zephiran typically occurs about 0.03 times per million words in modern written English.
Zephiran is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of Zephiran, n., 1930–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1930 | 0.063 |
| 1940 | 0.063 |
| 1950 | 0.057 |
| 1960 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 0.051 |
| 1980 | 0.045 |
| 1990 | 0.035 |
| 2000 | 0.022 |
| 2010 | 0.012 |