zinc whitenoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zinc white mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zinc white. 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 zinc white?
| 1800 | 0.0015 |
| 1810 | 0.002 |
| 1820 | 0.0049 |
| 1830 | 0.008 |
| 1840 | 0.017 |
| 1850 | 0.023 |
| 1860 | 0.032 |
| 1870 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 0.068 |
| 1890 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 0.086 |
| 1910 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 0.09 |
| 1930 | 0.084 |
| 1940 | 0.068 |
| 1950 | 0.053 |
| 1960 | 0.041 |
| 1970 | 0.033 |
| 1980 | 0.023 |
| 1990 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 0.019 |
| 2010 | 0.019 |
Where does the noun zinc white come from?
Earliest known use
1840s
The earliest known use of the noun zinc white is in the 1840s.
OED's earliest evidence for zinc white is from 1847, in British Pat. 11,616.
Nearby entries
- zincography, n.1834–
- zincoid, n.1842–
- zinc orange, n.1918–
- zincous, adj.1842–
- zinc-plate, n.1823–
- zinc-powder, n.1881–
- zinc roof, n.1883–
- zinc spar, n.1796–
- zinc-sponge, n.1902–
- zinc sulphide, n.1851–
- zinc white, n.1847–
- zincy, adj.1757–
- zinc yellow, n.1847–
- zindabad, int. & n.1930–
- zindan, n.1844–
- Zindikite, n.1694–
- Zindiq, n.1667–
- zine, n.1946–
- zineb, n.1950–
- zines, int.?1701–10
- zinester, n.1986–
Meaning & use
- 1847–Oxide of zinc used as a white paint.
- 1847
The dryer is added to the color prepared with the zinc white.
British Pat. 11,616 9 - 1849
Zinc white is valuable..in painting, on account of its durability both in oil and water.
Weale's Dictionary Terms (at cited word)
- white leadlate Old English–A basic carbonate of lead, much used as a white pigment in paints and cosmetics, and also in waterproof sealants and lubricant; = ceruse, n.…
- whitea1300–White pigment; any of various types of such pigment. Frequently with distinguishing word.
- blank plumbc1325–White (obsolete, and chiefly in specific uses, e.g. blank plumb white lead, blank falcon a ‘white hawk,’ i.e. one in its third year); pale…
- cerusec1405–A name for white lead, n. a mixture or compound of carbonate and hydrate of lead (usually 2 PbCO3+ PbH2O2); largely used as a white paint, formerly…
- white earth1448–Clay or other earthy material that is light-coloured; (Painting) earth colour that is white.
- litharge1551–1800Used as equivalent to white lead or red lead (see lead, n.¹ 2).
- mineral white1651–Any of several mineral salts used as a white pigment, esp. barium sulfate (permanent white) and calcium sulfate (gypsum).
- flake-white1660–A pigment made from the purest white-lead in the form of flakes or scales.
- Vienna white1816–In the names of pigments used in painting, decorative arts, etc. Either of two white pigments, (a) calcium carbonate; (b) white lead (lead carbonate).
- permanent white1822–A paint or tint of intense white which does not discolour.
- Chinese white1826–A fine-grained white pigment typically consisting of zinc oxide.
- satin white1829–A pigment consisting of calcium sulfate and alumina, used in papermaking.
- zinc white1847–Oxide of zinc used as a white paint.
- constant white1854–= permanent white, n.
- Krems1854–Used attributively to designate a white lead pigment used as a paint base; the same as Cremnitz white.
- Cremnitz1874–Used attributively to designate a white lead pigment used as a paint base.
- silver-white1875–A pure white lead used by artists; Chinese white.
- lithoponea1884–A mixture of zinc sulfide and barium sulfate used as a white pigment in paint, linoleum, and printing ink, and as a filler in paper.
- baryta white1885–= permanent white (see permanent, adj. & n.compounds).
- Charlton white1885–A house-painters' pigment consisting of barium and strontium sulfates with zinc sulfide; = lithopone, n.
- earth white1908–A white pigment obtained from an earth (earth, n.¹ IV.16).
- titanium white1920–A white pigment consisting chiefly or wholly of titanium dioxide.
society leisure the arts visual arts painting and drawing equipment for painting or drawing [nouns] specific pigments- motey1353–1510An earth (perhaps similar to ochre) used as a pigment; (perhaps) a pigment which has a speckled or mottled appearance when applied.
- green earth1634–Any of various greenish, clayey materials; spec. †(a) crude borax (obsolete); (b) the pigment terre verte; (c) Mineralogy the mineral glauconite.
- terre-verte1658–A soft green earth of varying composition used as a pigment; esp. that obtained from Italy (Verona), Cyprus, and France; = celadonite, n. or green…
- Terra Sienna1760–= Siena, n. Also attributive.
- Siena1787–(Usually written Sienna.) A ferruginous earth used as a pigment in oil and water-colour painting (called burnt sienna when it has been exposed to a…
- gamboge yellow1807–A yellow pigment of which gamboge is an ingredient; the colour of such a pigment.
- zinc white1847–Oxide of zinc used as a white paint.
- zinc-powder1881–= zinc-dust, n.
Frequency
zinc white typically occurs about 0.02 times per million words in modern written English.
zinc white 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 zinc white, 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 | 0.0015 |
| 1810 | 0.002 |
| 1820 | 0.0049 |
| 1830 | 0.008 |
| 1840 | 0.017 |
| 1850 | 0.023 |
| 1860 | 0.032 |
| 1870 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 0.068 |
| 1890 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 0.086 |
| 1910 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 0.09 |
| 1930 | 0.084 |
| 1940 | 0.068 |
| 1950 | 0.053 |
| 1960 | 0.041 |
| 1970 | 0.033 |
| 1980 | 0.023 |
| 1990 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 0.019 |
| 2010 | 0.019 |