zonite, n.

zonite
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zonite_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zonitenoun

## Earlier version

- zonite in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zonite mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zonite. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

zonite has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

shells and shellfish (1860s) invertebrates (1880s)

#### 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 zonite?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1860 | 0.0027
1870 | 0.0024
1880 | 0.0023
1890 | 0.0024
1900 | 0.0034
1910 | 0.0077
1920 | 0.0081
1930 | 0.0086
1940 | 0.0091
1950 | 0.0093
1960 | 0.009
1970 | 0.0081
1980 | 0.0036
1990 | 0.0031
2000 | 0.0024
2010 | 0.002

### How is the noun zonite pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzəʊnʌɪt/

### Where does the noun zonite come from?

Earliest known use

1860s

The earliest known use of the noun zonite is in the 1860s.

OED's earliest evidence for zonite is from 1860, in All the Year Round.

zonite is a borrowing from Latin.

Etymons: Latin zōnītēs.

### Nearby entries

1. zone plate, n. 1890–
2. zoner, n. 1962–
3. zone-refine, v. 1962–
4. zone refiner, n. 1959–
5. zone refining, n. 1952–
6. zone therapy, n. 1915–
7. zone time, n. 1908–
8. Zonian, n. 1910–
9. zonic, adj. 1797–
10. zoning, n. a1821–
11. zonite, n.1860–
12. zonitic, adj. 1888–
13. zonk, v. 1950–
14. zonk, int. 1949–
15. zonked, adj. 1959–
16. zonkey, n. 1953–
17. zonking, adj. 1958–
18. zonky, adj. 1972–
19. zono-, comb. form
20. zonochlorite, n. 1872–
21. zonociliate, adj. 1885–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Latin.
Etymon: Latin zōnītēs.
< modern Latin zōnītēs, < Latin zōna zone n.: see ‑ite suffix1.

## Meaning & use

Zoology.

1. 1.
   1860–
   A snail of the genus Zonites.
   1. 1860

      > Porcelain Zonites that lived two years and a half without aliment.

      All Year Round 18 February 390
   shells and shellfish
   1. zonite 1860–
      A snail of the genus Zonites.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1880–
   Any of the body-rings of a segmented animal, as an arthropod or annelid.
   1. 1880

      > Zonites, Somites, or Metameres.

      F. P. Pascoe, Zoological Classification (ed. 2) 297
   2. 1888

      > Each somite is subdivided externally into at least two lesser divisions or zonites.

      Huxley & Martin's Pract. Biology 241
   invertebrates
   1. zonite 1880–
      Any of the body-rings of a segmented animal, as an arthropod or annelid.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. zonite 1880–
      Any of the body-rings of a segmented animal, as an arthropod or annelid.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzəʊnʌɪt/

####

##### 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.

## Frequency

zonite typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zonite is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zonite, n., 1860–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1860 | 0.0027
1870 | 0.0024
1880 | 0.0023
1890 | 0.0024
1900 | 0.0034
1910 | 0.0077
1920 | 0.0081
1930 | 0.0086
1940 | 0.0091
1950 | 0.0093
1960 | 0.009
1970 | 0.0081
1980 | 0.0036
1990 | 0.0031
2000 | 0.0024
2010 | 0.002

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zonitic, adj. 1888–

zonite, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zonite, n. was last modified in December 2024.