zopilotenoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zopilote mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zopilote. 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 zopilote?
| 1810 | 0.0054 |
| 1820 | 0.0071 |
| 1830 | 0.0086 |
| 1840 | 0.0085 |
| 1850 | 0.0096 |
| 1860 | 0.011 |
| 1870 | 0.012 |
| 1880 | 0.011 |
| 1890 | 0.011 |
| 1900 | 0.011 |
| 1910 | 0.014 |
| 1920 | 0.014 |
| 1930 | 0.013 |
| 1940 | 0.013 |
| 1950 | 0.013 |
| 1960 | 0.012 |
| 1970 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 0.0082 |
| 1990 | 0.0079 |
| 2000 | 0.0077 |
| 2010 | 0.0072 |
How is the noun zopilote pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zopilote come from?
Earliest known use
late 1700s
The earliest known use of the noun zopilote is in the late 1700s.
OED's earliest evidence for zopilote is from 1787, in a translation by C. Cullen.
zopilote is a borrowing from Spanish.
Nearby entries
- zootype, n.1883–
- zootypic, adj.1853–
- zoowoman, n.1930–
- zooxanthella, n.1882–
- zooxanthellate, adj. & n.1981–
- zooxanthin, n.1868–
- zoozygosphere, n.1880–
- zope, n.1880–
- zophoric, adj.1728–
- zophorus | zoophorus, n.1563–
- zopilote, n.1787–
- zopissa, n.1601–
- zoppa, adj.1740–
- Zoque, n.1891–
- Zoque–Mixe, adj. & n.1893–
- Zorb, n.1996–
- zorbing, n.1996–
- zorgite, n.1852–
- zori, n.?1823–
- zoril, n.1774–
- Zoroastrian, adj. & n.1597–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1787–A vulture of the family Cathartidæ, esp. the American carrion vulture or turkey-buzzard, Cathartes aura.
- 1787
The Zopilots, known in South America by the name of Gallinazzi;..There are two very different species..; the one, the Zopilote properly so called, the other called the Cozcaquauhtli.
C. Cullen, translation of F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico vol. I. 47 - 1850
The Eagle's cliff was black with zopilotes.
M. Reid, Rifle Rangers vol. II. xxx. 278 - 1860
When in search of food, the Zopilote ascends to a vast height in the air.
J. G. Wood, Illustrated Natural History (1862) vol. II. 17
the world animals birds order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) family Cathartidae (New World vultures) [nouns] member of- zopilote1787–A vulture of the family Cathartidæ, esp. the American carrion vulture or turkey-buzzard, Cathartes aura.
the world animals birds order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) family Cathartidae (New World vultures) [nouns] cathartes aura (turkey vulture)- turkey-buzzard1672–An American carrion vulture, Cathartes aura, so called from its bare reddish head and neck and dark plumage; the John Crow of Jamaica; also figurative…
- gallinazo1772–An American vulture (Cathartes aura or Catharista atrata).
- zopilote1787–A vulture of the family Cathartidæ, esp. the American carrion vulture or turkey-buzzard, Cathartes aura.
- John Crowa1818–The turkey vulture, Cathartes aura.
- turkey vulture1823–= turkey-buzzard, n.
Pronunciation
British 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.
Forms
Variant forms
Also zopilot.Frequency
zopilote typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zopilote 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 zopilote, n., 1810–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1810 | 0.0054 |
| 1820 | 0.0071 |
| 1830 | 0.0086 |
| 1840 | 0.0085 |
| 1850 | 0.0096 |
| 1860 | 0.011 |
| 1870 | 0.012 |
| 1880 | 0.011 |
| 1890 | 0.011 |
| 1900 | 0.011 |
| 1910 | 0.014 |
| 1920 | 0.014 |
| 1930 | 0.013 |
| 1940 | 0.013 |
| 1950 | 0.013 |
| 1960 | 0.012 |
| 1970 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 0.0082 |
| 1990 | 0.0079 |
| 2000 | 0.0077 |
| 2010 | 0.0072 |