zincyadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective zincy mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adjective zincy. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the adjective zincy?
| 1750 | 0.023 |
| 1760 | 0.019 |
| 1770 | 0.016 |
| 1780 | 0.014 |
| 1790 | 0.0013 |
| 1800 | 0.0013 |
| 1810 | 0.0013 |
| 1820 | 0.0014 |
| 1830 | 0.0011 |
| 1840 | 0.0008 |
| 1850 | 0.0005 |
| 1860 | 0.0008 |
| 1870 | 0.0016 |
| 1880 | 0.0018 |
| 1890 | 0.0019 |
| 1900 | 0.0019 |
| 1910 | 0.0017 |
| 1920 | 0.0015 |
| 1930 | 0.0013 |
| 1940 | 0.0004 |
| 1950 | 0.0003 |
| 1960 | 0.0002 |
| 1970 | 0.0001 |
| 1980 | 0.0001 |
| 1990 | 0.0001 |
| 2000 | 0.0001 |
| 2010 | 0.0001 |
How is the adjective zincy pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the adjective zincy come from?
Earliest known use
mid 1700s
The earliest known use of the adjective zincy is in the mid 1700s.
OED's earliest evidence for zincy is from 1757, in Henckel's Pyritologia.
zincy is formed within English, by derivation.
Etymons: zinc n., ‑y suffix1.
Nearby entries
- 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–
- zinfandel, n.1880–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1757–Relating to or containing zinc; resembling or reminiscent of zinc.
- 1757
The ground-mixtion of this zinky [German zinckischen] matter.
translation of J. F. Henckel, Pyritologia x. 176 - 1796
The Zincky ores [of lead] are said to be greyer than other Ores.
R. Kirwan, Elements of Mineralogy (ed. 2) vol. II. 218 - 1859
It [sc. aluminium] may be seen pretty generally in jewellers' shops in ornaments of a zincy appearance.
N. Wales Chron. 26 March - 1913
As the mine development progresses the ore becomes more and more zincy.
Mining & Sci. Press 10 May 684/2 - 2012
There is the taste [of oysters], of course—that briny, nectar, and zinky combination like no other.
E. Probyn in G. Pratt & V. Rosner, Global & Intimate ii. 63
- zincy1757–Relating to or containing zinc; resembling or reminiscent of zinc.
- zinciferous1820–Containing or producing zinc.
- zincic1860–Of, pertaining to, or containing zinc. zincic oxide, oxide of zinc, regarded as the source of the compounds called zincates.
- zincian1930–Of a mineral: having a (small) proportion of a constituent element replaced by zinc.
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
- 1700s–zincky, zinky
- 1800s–zincy
Frequency
zincy typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zincy is in frequency band 1, which contains words occurring fewer than 0.001 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zincy, adj., 1750–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1750 | 0.023 |
| 1760 | 0.019 |
| 1770 | 0.016 |
| 1780 | 0.014 |
| 1790 | 0.0013 |
| 1800 | 0.0013 |
| 1810 | 0.0013 |
| 1820 | 0.0014 |
| 1830 | 0.0011 |
| 1840 | 0.0008 |
| 1850 | 0.0005 |
| 1860 | 0.0008 |
| 1870 | 0.0016 |
| 1880 | 0.0018 |
| 1890 | 0.0019 |
| 1900 | 0.0019 |
| 1910 | 0.0017 |
| 1920 | 0.0015 |
| 1930 | 0.0013 |
| 1940 | 0.0004 |
| 1950 | 0.0003 |
| 1960 | 0.0002 |
| 1970 | 0.0001 |
| 1980 | 0.0001 |
| 1990 | 0.0001 |
| 2000 | 0.0001 |
| 2010 | 0.0001 |