zerumbetnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zerumbet mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zerumbet. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun zerumbet?
| 1780 | 0.0069 |
| 1790 | 0.0078 |
| 1800 | 0.0069 |
| 1810 | 0.0061 |
| 1820 | 0.0048 |
| 1830 | 0.0038 |
| 1840 | 0.0048 |
| 1850 | 0.0044 |
| 1860 | 0.0029 |
| 1870 | 0.0027 |
| 1880 | 0.0025 |
| 1890 | 0.0021 |
| 1900 | 0.0022 |
| 1910 | 0.0015 |
| 1920 | 0.0015 |
| 1930 | 0.0017 |
| 1940 | 0.0018 |
| 1950 | 0.0022 |
| 1960 | 0.0025 |
| 1970 | 0.0029 |
| 1980 | 0.0033 |
| 1990 | 0.0034 |
| 2000 | 0.0037 |
| 2010 | 0.0042 |
How is the noun zerumbet pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun zerumbet come from?
Earliest known use
mid 1600s
The earliest known use of the noun zerumbet is in the mid 1600s.
OED's earliest evidence for zerumbet is from 1640, in the writing of John Parkinson, apothecary and herbalist.
zerumbet is a borrowing from Portuguese.
Etymons: Portuguese zerumbete, zerumbet.
Nearby entries
- zero-rated, adj.1972–
- zero rating, n.1971–
- zero sound, n.1957–
- zero-sum, adj.1944–
- zeroth, adj.1850–
- zero tillage, n.1963–
- zero tolerance, n.1940–
- zerovalent, adj.1906–
- zero waste, adj. & n.1974–
- zero-zero, adj. & n.1930–
- zerumbet, n.1640–
- zest, n.¹1674–
- zest, n.²1706
- zest, v.1702–
- zest, int.1705–22
- zester, n.1963–
- zestful, adj.1797–
- zestfully, adv.1843–
- zestiness, n.1912–
- zesty, adj.1826–
- zeta, n.¹?a1425–
Etymology
Summary
Notes
- 1576
Take..of Seminis sancti, Benedictae,..Rhapontici Dioscoridis, Ciambet (an Zurumbet [Latin Zurumbet]) of each three drams & a halfe.
G. Baker, translation of C. Gesner, Newe Jewell of Health iv. f. 221v - 1597
The Apothecaries do sell another Zedoaria differing from Anthora,..that..is thought to be Auicens and Serapios Zerumbeth, or Zurumbeth.
J. Gerard, Herball ii. 820
- 1555
Of the Apothecaries drugges: And of what price they are in Calicut and Malabar... Zerumba, the farazuola Fanan ii. Zedoaria, the farazuola Fanan i.
R. Eden, Of Prices Precious Stones & Spices in translation of Peter Martyr of Angleria, Decades of Newe Worlde f. 238v
Meaning & use
- 1640–The aromatic root of any of several plants of the genus Curcuma (family Zingiberaceae), esp. C. zedoaria, used (formerly) as a medicinal agent and spice. Also: the plant itself. Cf. zedoary n.
- 1640
Garcias ab Orta saith, that Zerumbet (or Zerumba..) groweth plentifully wild in Malavar Calecut, and Cananor.
J. Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum xvii. lv. 1612 - 1662
The Zerumbet..likewise growes in these parts, and is like to ginger.
J. Davies, translation of A. Olearius, Voyages & Travels of J. Albert de Mandelslo ii. 151 in Voyages & Travels of Ambassadors - 1694
Kua or Zerumbeth of our Shops, a Species of Ginger.
Philosophical Transactions (Royal Society) vol. 18 278 - 1712
The Zedoary is the long Part of the Plant, serving as a root to the Zerumbeth.
J. Browne, translation of P. Pomet et al. Compleat History of Druggs vol. I. 33 - 1763
Zerumbeth is a tuberose geniculated root,..of a whitish yellow colour, with an acrid taste, not unlike ginger, and a fragrant smell.
R. Brookes, New System of Natural History vol. VI. 22 - 1861
The so-called Cassumunar roots, Zedoary roots, and Zerumbet roots of commerce.
R. Bentley, Manual of Botany ii. iii. 668 - 1879
Curcuma Zerumbet..corresponds exactly in shape and taste and odour with specimens of zedoary or zerumbet root in the museum of this Society.
Pharmaceutical Journal & Transactions 5 July 21/2 - 1909
Curcuma Zedoaria... This root was formerly used in Europe under the name of zerumbet root.
Proceedings 57th Ann. Meeting Amer. Pharmaceut. Association 756 - 1983
Zerumbet was known to the Arabs, Persians and Turks by the name zerumba.
K. S. Mathew, Portuguese Trade India 16th Century iv. 138 - 2014
Zerumbet..is no longer consumed, though its essential oil is used in perfumery.
Econ. Times (New Delhi) 6 November
the world health healing medicines or physic medicines for specific purpose restoratives, tonics, or stimulants [nouns] tonic plant-derived- hypocistisa1425–1751The solidified juice of Cytinus hypocistis, a parasitic plant of the South of Europe, growing on the roots of Cistus: it contains gallic acid and…
- red sanders1553–= red sanderswood, n. In later use also: the tree yielding this wood.
- sarsaparilla1577–The dried roots of plants of the various species of Smilaceæ; esp. Jamaica sarsaparilla, Smilax officinalis; also, a medicinal preparation of the…
- langue de boeuf1615Any of various plants, chiefly of the family Boraginaceae, having rough, tongue-shaped leaves, as viper's bugloss, Echium vulgare, borage, Borago…
- sarsa1625–= sarsaparilla, n. 1. Also attributive.
- zerumbet1640–The aromatic root of any of several plants of the genus Curcuma (family Zingiberaceae), esp. C. zedoaria, used (formerly) as a medicinal agent and…
- Winter's cinnamon1673–Winter's bark (see Winter's bark, n. 1).
- cascarilla1686–The bitter aromatic bark of the plant Croton eleuteria, used as a tonic. Also called cascarilla bark.
- Winteran bark1694–1890attributive, in Winteran bark: Winter's bark (see Winter's bark, n.).
- simarouba1733–The bark of the root of a tropical American tree of the genus Simarouba (more fully simarouba bark); a bitter tonic made from this, used esp. as a…
- hypocist1751= hypocistis, n.
- Oswego tea1752–The North American plant Monarda didyma (family Lamiaceae (Labiatae)), having scented leaves and showy red flowers; (also) a herbal tea made from…
- yellowroot1755–Originally: (more fully Canadian yellowroot) the plant goldenseal, Hydrastis canadensis, of Canada and the northern United States; the yellow rhizome…
- calumba1789–The root of Jateorhiza palmata (or Coccolus palmatus) family Menospermaceæ, a plant indigenous to the forests of Mozambique, used in medicine as a…
- pipsissewa1793–A North American and Eurasian plant with trailing stems and whorls of evergreen leaves, Chimaphila umbellata (family Pyrolaceae; also called prince's…
- prince's pine1807–a. The pipsissewa, Chimaphila umbellata (family Pyrolaceae); b. the jack pine, Pinus banksiana (family Pinaceae).
- strychnine1819–A highly poisonous vegetable alkaloid, C21H22N2O2, obtained chiefly from Strychnos Nux-vomica and other plants of the same genus. It is used in…
- strychnia1823–= strychnine, n.
- false Winter's bark1830–In full false Winter's bark. The aromatic bark of the wild cinnamon tree, Canella winterana (family Canellaceae), which is used medicinally, as a…
- strychnina1838= strychnine, n.
- musk root1844–Any of several plants with musk-scented roots, or the roots themselves: (a) the root of the sumbul, Ferula sumbul, used in medicine; †(b) the…
- sumbul root1844–General use as a modifier, as in sumbul balsam, sumbul oil, sumbul root, etc.
- chirayta1847–The bitter tonic obtained from this, used like quinine.
- Cusparia1852–A genus of trees, now usually called Galipea, species of which yield the Angustura or Cusparia bark used as a tonic; also = cusparin, n.
- phytin1905–An insoluble salt of phytic acid with calcium and magnesium, found in plant tissues, esp. cereals. Also more generally: the acid itself. Also (Phytin…
- boldo1908–An evergreen tree of Chile, Peumus boldus; also, a medicinal preparation of the leaves of this tree, formerly used as a tonic.
the world plants particular plants cultivated or valued plants particular medicinal plants or parts non-British medicinal plants [nouns] medicinal roots zedoary root or plant- zedoaryOld English–Any of several species of the genus Curcuma (family Zingiberaceae), esp. C. zedoaria, which are native to south Asia and have aromatic, tuberous…
- setwall?c1225–1909Any of several species of the genus Curcuma (family Zingiberaceae), esp. C. zedoaria, which are native to south Asia and have aromatic, tuberous…
- curcuma1617–a. Botany. A genus of Zingiberaceæ consisting of plants with perennial tuberous roots, furnishing various commercial substances, as zedoary, East…
- zerumbet1640–The aromatic root of any of several plants of the genus Curcuma (family Zingiberaceae), esp. C. zedoaria, used (formerly) as a medicinal agent and…
- cassumunar1693–The tuberous root of an East Indian plant (apparently Curcuma aromatica Salisb., C. Zedoaria Roxb.); it is warm, bitter and aromatic, smells like…
- yellow zedoary1754–Wild turmeric, Curcuma aromatica, which is native to south Asia and has an aromatic, tuberous rhizome; (also) the root of this plant, typically…
- Bengal root1826–In the names of plants, animals, and natural and artificial products native to, originating from… The tuberous root of either of two South Asian…
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
- 1600s–1700szerumbeth
- 1600s; 1800s–zerumbet
Frequency
zerumbet typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zerumbet 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 zerumbet, 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 | 0.0069 |
| 1790 | 0.0078 |
| 1800 | 0.0069 |
| 1810 | 0.0061 |
| 1820 | 0.0048 |
| 1830 | 0.0038 |
| 1840 | 0.0048 |
| 1850 | 0.0044 |
| 1860 | 0.0029 |
| 1870 | 0.0027 |
| 1880 | 0.0025 |
| 1890 | 0.0021 |
| 1900 | 0.0022 |
| 1910 | 0.0015 |
| 1920 | 0.0015 |
| 1930 | 0.0017 |
| 1940 | 0.0018 |
| 1950 | 0.0022 |
| 1960 | 0.0025 |
| 1970 | 0.0029 |
| 1980 | 0.0033 |
| 1990 | 0.0034 |
| 2000 | 0.0037 |
| 2010 | 0.0042 |