zero grazingnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zero grazing mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zero grazing. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun zero grazing?
| 1950 | 0.005 |
| 1960 | 0.0056 |
| 1970 | 0.0058 |
| 1980 | 0.006 |
| 1990 | 0.0066 |
| 2000 | 0.0069 |
| 2010 | 0.0073 |
Where does the noun zero grazing come from?
Earliest known use
1950s
The earliest known use of the noun zero grazing is in the 1950s.
OED's earliest evidence for zero grazing is from 1954, in Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Sentinel.
Nearby entries
- zero-derived, adj.1971–
- zero-dimensional, adj.1880–
- zero-emission, n. & adj.1952–
- zero-energy, adj.1947–
- zero-field, adj.1915–
- zero-G, adj. & n.1950–
- zero grade, n.1888–
- zero gravity, n. & adj.1915–
- zero-graze, v.1954–
- zero-grazed, adj.1958–
- zero grazing, n.1954–
- zero growth, n.1907–
- zero hour, n.1915–
- zero-hours, adj.1988–
- zeroing, n.1906–
- zeroize, v.1894–
- zero-length, adj.1945–
- zero-line, n.1834–
- zero magnet, n.1890–
- zero mark, n.1821–
- zero meridian, n.1849–
Meaning & use
- 1954–The practice of feeding cattle with cut grass brought to them instead of putting them out to pasture; cf. soiling n.4 1.
- 1954
Zero grazing—for larger herds with suitable harvesting equipment, feeding..by bringing feed in on a feed rack.
Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Sentinel 25 May 11/3 - 1984
There are other herds that never go out into pasture... They have their grass cut and carted to them, a method called ‘zero-grazing’.
‘D. Archer’, Ambridge Years 19 - 2011
He specialised in beef and dairy husbandry and was responsible for the introduction of..zero grazing and bulk milk collection.
Aberdeen Press & Journal (Nexis) 29 January 30
- winter feeding1602–The action of winter-feed, v.
- soiling1607–The action or practice of feeding horses, cows, etc., on fresh-cut green fodder, originally in order to cause purgation.
- low feeding1688–The practice or result of providing domestic animals, esp. livestock, with a relatively limited amount of feed.
- house-feeding1741–Feeding of animals done indoors, as opposed to grazing in a pasture, field, etc.
- fogging1765–1915The action or practice of feeding farm animals on fog (fog, n.¹ 1a). Also (rarely): the action of farm animals in feeding on fog. Obsolete.
- cake feeding1799–The feeding of animals with cake (in cake, n. A.I.4b), as opposed to grass, etc.
- stall-feeding1805–
- suppering1820–Chiefly Scottish and English regional (northern). The final feeding of animals in the evening, sometimes also including bedding them down. Also…
- box feeding1843–The provision of food such as hay, grain, etc., to livestock kept in a barn or shed; (also) the provision of such food in a box or container to…
- warming1874–With up: the action or condition of ‘warming up’ (see warm, v. I.3). Frequently attributive.
- self-feed1894–A system of feeding livestock in which a continual supply of food is provided (typically using a self-feeder), so as to allow them to feed…
- self-feeding1917–The action of self-feed, v. (in various senses). Frequently attributive.
- zero grazing1954–The practice of feeding cattle with cut grass brought to them instead of putting them out to pasture; cf. soiling, n.⁴ 1.
Frequency
zero grazing typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zero grazing 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 of zero grazing, n., 1950–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.005 |
| 1960 | 0.0056 |
| 1970 | 0.0058 |
| 1980 | 0.006 |
| 1990 | 0.0066 |
| 2000 | 0.0069 |
| 2010 | 0.0073 |