zibeline, n.

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

# zibelinenoun

## Earlier version

- zibeline in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zibeline mean?

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

zibeline has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

animals (late 1500s) fur trade (1860s)

#### 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 zibeline?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1780 | 0.0027
1790 | 0.0029
1800 | 0.0025
1810 | 0.0022
1820 | 0.0016
1830 | 0.0013
1840 | 0.0018
1850 | 0.0017
1860 | 0.0013
1870 | 0.0026
1880 | 0.0033
1890 | 0.0036
1900 | 0.0042
1910 | 0.004
1920 | 0.0042
1930 | 0.0043
1940 | 0.0031
1950 | 0.0026
1960 | 0.002
1970 | 0.0016
1980 | 0.0016
1990 | 0.0014
2000 | 0.0013
2010 | 0.0013

### How is the noun zibeline pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɪbəlɪn/
/ˈzɪbəlʌɪn/

### Where does the noun zibeline come from?

Earliest known use

late 1500s

The earliest known use of the noun zibeline is in the late 1500s.

OED's earliest evidence for zibeline is from 1585, in a translation by Thomas Washington.

zibeline is a borrowing from French.

Etymons: French zibeline.

### Nearby entries

1. Zhdanovist, adj. 1966–
2. Zhdanovite, adj. 1957–
3. zho, n. 1841–
4. zhomo, n. 1841–
5. zhuyin zimu, n. 1938–
6. zhuzh, n. 1968–
7. zhuzh, v. 1970–
8. zhuzhy, adj. 1968–
9. ziamet, n. 1807–
10. ziarat, n. 1776–
11. zibeline, n.1585–
12. zibet, n. 1594–
13. zibet-muff, n. 1685
14. zibib, n. 1836–
15. ziczac, n. 1844–
16. zidovudine, n. 1987–
17. Ziegfeld, n. 1913–
18. Ziegler, n. 1957–
19. Ziegler-Natta, n. 1965–
20. Ziehl, n. 1892–
21. Ziehl-Neelsen, n. 1892–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from French.
Etymon: French zibeline.
< French zibeline (also †zabelline, †zebeline, Old French sebelin), = Italian zibellino, Spanish z-, cebellina, Portuguese zebelina; Romanic derivative of Slavic sobol: see sable n.1

## Meaning & use

1. 1.
   1585–
   A small carnivorous quadruped, the sable, Mustela zibellina. Also attributive.
   1. 1585

      > Furres of martirs, Zebelins, Sables.

      T. Washington, translation of N. de Nicolay, Nauigations Turkie ii. xxiii. 62
   2. 1654

      > Garnished round with..skin three fingers broad, of Castor, or Zibellin.

      translation of M. Martini, Bellum Tartaricum 9
   3. 1671

      > Clothed..in cloth of Gold and Silver in Zebelline and African furs.

      H. M., translation of Erasmus, Colloquies 447
   4. 1784

      > The common fox; the stoat, or ermine; the zibeline, or sable.

      J. King, Cook's Voyage to Pacific vol. III. vi. vi. 340
   5. 1808

      > The zibelin from her haunts decoy'd; Or chas'd the ermine from his cell.

      E. Sleath, Bristol Heiress vol. I. 177
   6. 1844

      > The inside is lined with skins of ermine and zibelline.

      Hugh Murray, Trav. Marco Polo i. §23. 133
   animals
   1. sable 1423–
      A small carnivorous quadruped, Mustela zibellina, nearly allied to the martens, and native of the arctic and sub-arctic regions of Europe and Asia…
   2. zibeline 1585–
      A small carnivorous quadruped, the sable, Mustela zibellina. Also attributive.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1869–
   The fur of the sable; sable.
   1. 1869

      > Black velvet, trimmed all over with zibeline.

      Daily News 7 January
   2. 1890

      > In 1188 or thereabout no person was allowed to wear garments of vair, gray, zibeline, or scarlet color.

      Popular Science Monthly May 34
   fur trade
   1. sabeline a1200–1876
      The fur of the sable.
   2. sable a1500–
      The skin or fur of the sable.
   3. Russian sable 1620–
      A skin or pelt of the sable, Martes zibellina; the heavy dark fur of this, esp. as used to make coats.
   4. zibeline 1869–
      The fur of the sable; sable.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
3. 3.
   1892–
   (Also zibeline cloth.) A soft smooth woollen material with a slightly furry surface, used for women's dress. Also attributive.
   1. 1892

      > Blue-grey zibeline cloth... A Czarina jacket of almond-coloured zibeline.

      Daily News 17 December 5/7
   2. 1893

      > The cloths coming in are mostly beavers, thick zibeline finished beavers for choice.

      Lady 17 August 172/2
   3. 1909

      > It was Emma. He recognized the zibeline toque and coat.

      W. J. Locke, Septimus ix
   textiles
   1. Welsh cotton 1546–
      Coarse woollen cloth with a nap; a (piece of) cloth of this type; cf. cotton, n.²
   2. Welsh frieze 1551–
      A (piece of) coarse woollen cloth with a nap; Welsh cotton.
   3. Welsh cloth 1565–
      = Welsh cotton, n.
   4. velour a1884–
      A woollen dress-fabric with a velvet pile.
   5. zibeline cloth 1892–
      (Also zibeline cloth.) A soft smooth woollen material with a slightly furry surface, used for women's dress. Also attributive.
   6. face cloth 1898–
      †a. A cloth for protecting the face of a baby; (also) a cloth laid over the face of a corpse (obsolete); b. a woollen cloth with a smooth napped…
   7. fleece 1957–
      In various transferred uses. spec. The thin sheet of cotton or wool fibre that is taken from the breaking-card. Also, a textile fabric with a soft…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɪbəlɪn/
/ˈzɪbəlʌɪn/

####

##### 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.

## Forms

### Variant forms

1500s zebelin, 1600s zebelline, 1600s zibellin, zibellen, zubeline, 1700s zebiline, 1700s– zibelin(e, (1800s zibelline).

## Frequency

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

zibeline 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 zibeline, n., 1780–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1780 | 0.0027
1790 | 0.0029
1800 | 0.0025
1810 | 0.0022
1820 | 0.0016
1830 | 0.0013
1840 | 0.0018
1850 | 0.0017
1860 | 0.0013
1870 | 0.0026
1880 | 0.0033
1890 | 0.0036
1900 | 0.0042
1910 | 0.004
1920 | 0.0042
1930 | 0.0043
1940 | 0.0031
1950 | 0.0026
1960 | 0.002
1970 | 0.0016
1980 | 0.0016
1990 | 0.0014
2000 | 0.0013
2010 | 0.0013

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

zibeline, n. was last modified in December 2024.