zinc spar, n.

zinc-spar
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zinc-spar_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zinc sparnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zinc spar mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zinc spar. 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 spar?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1780 | 0.0052
1790 | 0.0042
1800 | 0.0036
1810 | 0.0031
1820 | 0.0023
1830 | 0.0007
1840 | 0.0006
1850 | 0.0005
1860 | 0.0005
1870 | 0.001
1880 | 0.0012
1890 | 0.0013
1900 | 0.0014
1910 | 0.0014
1920 | 0.0014
1930 | 0.0014
1940 | 0.0009
1950 | 0.0008
1960 | 0.0005
1970 | 0.0004
1980 | 0.0003
1990 | 0.0003
2000 | 0.0003
2010 | 0.0002

### Where does the noun zinc spar come from?

Earliest known use

late 1700s

The earliest known use of the noun zinc spar is in the late 1700s.

OED's only evidence for zinc spar is from 1796, in the writing of Richard Kirwan, chemist and mineralogist.

### Nearby entries

1. zincograph, v. 1865–
2. zincographer, n. 1839–
3. zincographic, adj. 1850–
4. zincography, n. 1834–
5. zincoid, n. 1842–
6. zinc orange, n. 1918–
7. zincous, adj. 1842–
8. zinc-plate, n. 1823–
9. zinc-powder, n. 1881–
10. zinc roof, n. 1883–
11. zinc spar, n.1796–
12. zinc-sponge, n. 1902–
13. zinc sulphide, n. 1851–
14. zinc white, n. 1847–
15. zincy, adj. 1757–
16. zinc yellow, n. 1847–
17. zindabad, int. & n. 1930–
18. zindan, n. 1844–
19. Zindikite, n. 1694–
20. Zindiq, n. 1667–
21. zine, n. 1946–

## Meaning & use

1. 1796–
   An old name for native zinc carbonate (= calamine n., smithsonite n. 2).
   1. 1796

      > Zinc Spar.

      R. Kirwan, Elements of Mineralogy (ed. 2) vol. II. 236
   minerals
   1. calaminaris 1577–
      Earlier name of calamine, n.
   2. calamine 1601–
      An ore of zinc: originally applied, like medieval Latin lapis calaminaris, and the cadmia of Pliny, to both the carbonate ZnCO3, and the hydrous…
   3. calmy 1658
      ? Calamine.
   4. calaminary a1661–1860
      = calaminaris, adj. & n.
   5. mock ore 1681–
      A substance resembling a useful ore; spec. sphalerite (zinc blende).
   6. blende 1683–
      Sulfide of zinc occurring as a native crystalline mineral.
   7. lapis calaminaris 1696–
      Calamine.
   8. mock-lead a1728–
      Sphalerite (zinc blende).
   9. black jack 1728–
      Mining. The mineral sphalerite or blende.
   10. cadmia 1753
       ‘The ancient name of calamine’ (Ure Dict. Arts I. 569); also applied to a sublimate consisting of oxide of zinc (tutty), and to an ore of cobalt.
   11. cadmy 1756
       = cadmia, n.
   12. calamy 1756
   13. calmey 1756
       = calamine, n.
   14. mock jack 1758
       = mock-lead, n.
   15. calamine stone 1761
       attributive, as in calamine stone n. = lapis calaminaris, n.
   16. red zinc ore 1781–
       A red ore of zinc; spec. = zincite, n.
   17. zinc spar 1796–
       An old name for native zinc carbonate (= calamine, n., smithsonite, n. 2).
   18. zinc-blende 1842–
       Native zinc sulphide = blende, n.
   19. smithsonite 1849–
       A mineral consisting of zinc carbonate, typically occurring as colourless prisms and crystalline aggregates.
   20. zincite 1854–
       A native oxide of zinc, of a deep-red or orange-yellow colour, found in New Jersey; red oxide of zinc, red zinc ore.
   21. adamite 1866–
       A zinc mineral occurring as yellow, green, or colourless crystals or crystal aggregates.
   22. adamine 1869–
       = adamite, n.²
   23. liver-blende 1912–
       = zinc-blende, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. calaminaris 1577–
      Earlier name of calamine, n.
   2. calamine 1601–
      An ore of zinc: originally applied, like medieval Latin lapis calaminaris, and the cadmia of Pliny, to both the carbonate ZnCO3, and the hydrous…
   3. calmy 1658
      ? Calamine.
   4. lapis calaminaris 1696–
      Calamine.
   5. ostracitis 1706–1892
      A kind of calamine (impure zinc ore) found as an incrustation in copper furnaces.
   6. cadmia 1753
      ‘The ancient name of calamine’ (Ure Dict. Arts I. 569); also applied to a sublimate consisting of oxide of zinc (tutty), and to an ore of cobalt.
   7. cadmy 1756
      = cadmia, n.
   8. calamy 1756
   9. calmey 1756
      = calamine, n.
   10. calamine stone 1761
       attributive, as in calamine stone n. = lapis calaminaris, n.
   11. zinc spar 1796–
       An old name for native zinc carbonate (= calamine, n., smithsonite, n. 2).
   12. smithsonite 1849–
       A mineral consisting of zinc carbonate, typically occurring as colourless prisms and crystalline aggregates.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

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

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

### Frequency of zinc spar, 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 | 0.0052
1790 | 0.0042
1800 | 0.0036
1810 | 0.0031
1820 | 0.0023
1830 | 0.0007
1840 | 0.0006
1850 | 0.0005
1860 | 0.0005
1870 | 0.001
1880 | 0.0012
1890 | 0.0013
1900 | 0.0014
1910 | 0.0014
1920 | 0.0014
1930 | 0.0014
1940 | 0.0009
1950 | 0.0008
1960 | 0.0005
1970 | 0.0004
1980 | 0.0003
1990 | 0.0003
2000 | 0.0003
2010 | 0.0002

Originally published as part of the entry for zinc, n.

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