zos-grassnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zos-grass mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zos-grass. 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 is the noun zos-grass pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun zos-grass come from?
Earliest known use
1930s
The earliest known use of the noun zos-grass is in the 1930s.
OED's earliest evidence for zos-grass is from 1937, in the writing of J. W. Day.
zos-grass is formed within English, by compounding.
Etymons: zostera n., grass n.1
Nearby entries
- zorgite, n.1852–
- zori, n.?1823–
- zoril, n.1774–
- Zoroastrian, adj. & n.1597–
- Zoroastrianism, n.1832–
- Zoroastrianize, v.1891–
- Zoroastric, adj.a1739–
- Zoroastrism, n.1819–
- zorrino, n.1885–
- zorro, n.1838–
- zos-grass, n.1937–
- zoster, n.1601–
- zostera, n.1819–
- zosterops, n.1867–
- Zouave, n.1848–
- zouk, n.1986–
- zounds, v.1680
- zounds, int.a1593–
- Zou-Zou, n.1860–
- zowie, int.1902–
- zoysia, n.1965–
Etymology
Meaning & use
- 1937–
- 1937
Five ducks come out of the sunset and swing low above me out to the muds and bared zos grass.
J. W. Day, Sporting Adventure 129 - 1974
They [sc. brent geese] cleared the mud-flats of the zos-grass, their natural feed.
Times 9 March 14/1
- sweet-grass1577–Any kind of grass (or herb called ‘grass’) of a sweet taste serving as fodder; spec. a book-name for the genus Glyceria; also locally, the woodruff, A…
- grass wrack1633–A common seagrass native to coastal waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, Zostera marina, having long, thin, grass-like leaves.
- grass weed1658–a. (More fully sea grass weed) any of several seagrasses or aquatic plants; spec. grass wrack, Zostera marina; b. any of various plants which…
- eel-grass1790–A plant with long narrow leaves: (a) = grass wrack, n.; (b) = tape-grass, n.; (c) figurative.
- zostera1819–A marine plant of the genus so named, esp. grasswrack, Z. marina.
- sea-wrack grass1836–Zostera marina.
- wigeon grass1857–(Chiefly in form widgeon grass) (originally) a type of seagrass growing along the coastlines of North America and Eurasia, Zostera marina (family Z…
- sea-grass1858–One of various plants and seaweeds growing in the sea: (a) a pondweed, Ruppia maritima; (b) the eel-grass or grass-wrack, Zostera marina; also, the…
- wigeon weed1893–(Chiefly in form widgeon weed) = wigeon grass, n.
- zos-grass1937–= zostera, n.
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