zebrafish, n.

zebrafish
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zebrafish_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zebrafishnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zebrafish mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zebrafish. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

This word is used in Australian English, North American English, and South African English.

### How common is the noun zebrafish?

About 0.2occurrences per million words in modern written English

1950 | 0.0074
1960 | 0.011
1970 | 0.033
1980 | 0.1
1990 | 0.17
2000 | 0.21
2010 | 0.27

### How is the noun zebrafish pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɛbrəˌfɪʃ/
ZEB-ruh-fish
/ˈziːbrəˌfɪʃ/
ZEE-bruh-fish

#### U.S. English

/ˈzibrəˌfɪʃ/
ZEE-bruh-fish

### Where does the noun zebrafish come from?

Earliest known use

late 1700s

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

OED's earliest evidence for zebrafish is from 1771, in a letter by M. Tyson.

zebrafish is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: zebra n., fish n.1

### Nearby entries

1. zearalenone, n. 1966–
2. zeatin, n. 1963–
3. zeaxanthin, n. 1929–
4. Zebedist, n. 1574
5. zebra, n. 1597–
6. zebra caterpillar, n. 1841–
7. zebra crossing, n. 1934–
8. zebra danio, n. 1917–
9. zebraed, adj. 1806–
10. zebra finch, n. 1868–
11. zebrafish, n.1771–
12. zebraic, adj. 1858–
13. zebra marking, n. 1854–
14. zebra moray, n. 1933–
15. zebra mule, n. 1841–
16. zebra mussel, n. 1866–
17. zebrano, n. 1908–
18. zebra opossum, n. 1808–
19. zebra parakeet, n. 1856–
20. zebra plant, n. 1826–
21. zebra poison, n. 1871–74

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by compounding.
< zebra n. + fish n.1

## Meaning & use

1. 1.
   1771–
   Any of various perciform fishes with dark stripes, as (Australian) a sea chub, Girella zebra, (South African) a sea bream, Diplodus cervinus, and (North American) a logperch (genus Percina).
   1. 1771

      > It is called by the Commodore the Zebra fish.

      M. Tyson, Letter 11 March in Philosophical Transactions 1771 (Royal Society) (1772) vol. 61 247
   2. 1885

      > The pretty little zebra-fish of the Rio Grande river..has been re-discovered and fully described.

      American Naturalist vol. 19 922
   3. 1924

      > Zebra fish (Enoplosus armatus) known in NSW as ‘Old Wife’. It is also called the Bastard Dory.

      C. E. Lord, Synopsis Vertebr. Animals Tasmania 66
   4. 1930

      > Zebra fish, The Wildeperd... Port Elizabeth—Striped dassie, Five-finger, Zebra.

      C. L. Biden, Sea-Angling Fishes 237
   5. 1983

      > Logperch—Percina caprodes... Other common names: zebra fish,..hogfish.

      G. C. Becker, Fishes of Wisconsin 907
   6. 2006

      > School of zebrafish (Girella zebra) over a temperate Posidonia australis meadow, Western Australia.

      BioScience vol. 56 988 (caption)
   fish South African English Australian English North American English
   1. mudfish 1502–
      A fish which lives in mud (whether marine, estuarine, or freshwater); spec. (a) U.S. the black and silver killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus; (b) U.S.…
   2. sprat 1552–
      Any of various other small fishes which are typically thought to resemble a sprat. Also: a young herring; cf. sprat herring, n. (a). Now frequently…
   3. frogfish 1598–
      Originally: the European anglerfish, Lophius piscatorius. Later more widely: any of numerous anglerfishes of the order Lophiiformes; spec. any of…
   4. rockfish 1605–
      Any of various fishes frequenting rocky shores or seabeds; spec. (a) (frequently with distinguishing word) any of numerous fishes of the family Sc…
   5. yellowtail a1622–
      Any of various marine fishes with a tail that is partly or entirely yellow.
   6. fishing frog 1666–
      Any of various anglerfishes, which attract prey using a wormlike lure attached to the head by a slender, mobile filament; cf. frogfish, n.
   7. sleeper 1668–
      Zoology. As the name of various fishes (see quots.). Also attributive.
   8. picarel 1688–
      Any of several small marine fishes of the family Centracanthidae (or Maenidae, Emmelichthyidae), found chiefly in the eastern Atlantic; esp. either…
   9. hogfish 1735–
      Either of two wrasses (family Labridae) found off the coasts of the western Atlantic and the Caribbean: the large and edible Lachnolaimus maximus…
   10. porkfish 1735–
       Any of various grunts (family Haemulidae) of the western Atlantic; (now) spec. Anisotremus virginicus, which has longitudinal yellow stripes…
   11. sucker 1753–
       Any fish characterized by a suctorial disk by which it adheres to foreign objects; e.g. fishes of the genus Cyclopterus (cf. lumpsucker, n.), the…
   12. zebrafish 1771–
       Any of various perciform fishes with dark stripes, as (Australian) a sea chub, Girella zebra, (South African) a sea bream, Diplodus cervinus, and…
   13. yellowbelly 1775–
       Any of various fishes with yellow underparts, esp. the golden perch, Macquaria ambigua.
   14. white steenbras 1801–
       A silvery steenbras, Lithognathus lithognathus; (also) the white musselcracker, Sparodon durbanensis (see musselcracker, n. 2).
   15. gaspergou 1809–
       Any of certain freshwater fishes of the southern United States; esp. the freshwater drumfish, Aplodinotus grunniens (family Sciaenidae).
   16. emperor of Japan 1810–38
       = emperor angelfish, n.
   17. stone-toter 1817–
       A North American freshwater fish, Catostomus or Hypentelium nigricans, also called stone-lugger or stone-roller (see quot. 1817); also applied to…
   18. goldeye 1818–
       A small freshwater Canadian fish with large golden eyes, Hiodon alosoides (family Hiodontidae); (in early use also more fully goldeye herring).
   19. stargazer 1842–
       Any of various freshwater fishes of other families, esp. Anablepidae and Percidae, having eyes set high on the head and, in the case of members of A…
   20. warehou 1848–
       A large marine food-fish, Seriolella brama, found near the South Island of New Zealand.
   21. baardman 1853–
       Name given to various fishes with barbels on the lips, and/or chin, as the sea-fish Sciæna capensis, related to and very like the Mediterranean…
   22. goatfish 1864–
       a. Astronomy and Astrology (an English name of) the zodiacal sign Capricorn and the constellation Capricornus; cf. Sea Goat n. at sea, n. additions…
   23. holostome 1864–
       One of the Holostomata or of the Holostomi (see above).
   24. blue cod 1871–
       a. (Chiefly New Zealand) a marine food fish, Parapercis colias (family Pinguipedidae), which is chiefly bluish in colour and is endemic to New…
   25. spot snapper 1876–
       Either of two tropical snappers of coral reefs in the West Atlantic, Lutjanus synagris (chiefly U.S.) and L. mahogoni (chiefly Caribbean), which…
   26. suck-fish 1876–
       = sucker, n. II.11.
   27. icefish 1879–
       A fish that frequents icy water; esp. (a) North American the capelin, Mallotus villosus (family Osmeridae) (now rare); (b) any fish of the perciform…
   28. goldeneye 1882–
       North American. Either of the two North American moon-eyes (fishes) constituting the genus Hiodon; esp. the goldeye, H. allosoides, which has…
   29. mademoiselle 1882–
       U.S. A croaker, Bairdiella chrysoura, of the southern United States. Also called silver perch, yellowtail.
   30. queenfish 1883–
       A small edible croaker, Seriphus politus (family Sciaenidae), found off the Pacific coast of North America.
   31. cigar-fish 1884–
       A small cigar-shaped fish of the genus Decapterus, found in the West Indies and south-eastern U.S.
   32. emperor fish 1884–
       a. = emperor angelfish, n.; b. = emperor bream, n.
   33. rock beauty 1885–
       A yellow and blackish-brown angelfish, Holacanthus tricolor (family Pomacanthidae), found on coral reefs in the Caribbean. Also more fully rock beauty…
   34. oilfish 1896–
       Any of various fishes noted for their oily flesh, esp. Ruvettus pretiosus (family Gempylidae), a large, long-bodied, purple-brown fish of tropical…
   35. aholehole 1897–
       Any of several Indo-Pacific flagtails (genus Kuhlia); esp. K. sandvicensis, a fish of Hawaiian waters.
   36. berrugate 1898–
       A fish, Verrugato pacificus, found on the Pacific coast of Central America, used as a food.
   37. Photoblepharon 1902–
       Either of two small tropical fishes of the genus Photoblepharon (family Anomalopidae), having a luminous organ below each eye and living around…
   38. greeneye 1907–
       Any of various small, slender deep-sea fishes that constitute the widespread family Chlorophthalmidae, which have large iridescent green eyes.
   39. X-ray fish 1924–
       a. Any of several fishes having translucent skin and muscle through which the spine or other internal organs are visible; esp. a small tetra, Pri…
   40. fairy basslet 1933–
       Any of various small tropical marine fishes, many of which are brightly coloured; spec. (a) any of several highly territorial fishes of the Western…
   41. sweet-lip 1934–
       Any of several marine fishes with prominent mouths, esp. an Australian food fish, Lethrinus chrysostomus, or a brightly coloured tropical fish of…
   42. emperor angelfish 1940–
       An Indo-Pacific angelfish, Pomacanthus imperator (family Pomacanthidae), which has a striking colour pattern dominated by blue and yellow…
   43. rabbitfish 1941–
       U.S. Any of several globefishes; esp. the smooth puffer, Lagocephalus laevigatus. Now rare.
   44. redbait 1960–
       Any of several small reddish fishes sometimes used as bait by anglers; esp. (Australian) Emmelichthys nitidus (family Emmelichthyidae) of southern…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. butterfish 1673–
      Any of various marine fishes thought to resemble butter in some way, as in having slippery… A gunnel (family Pholidae); esp. the rock gunnel, Phol…
   2. black cod 1681–
      a. The saithe or coalfish, Pollachius virens; b. any of various fishes of the family Nototheniidae, of southern oceans, which are predominantly dark…
   3. zebrafish 1771–
      Any of various perciform fishes with dark stripes, as (Australian) a sea chub, Girella zebra, (South African) a sea bream, Diplodus cervinus, and…
   4. moki 1777–
      Any of various edible marine fishes of the percoid families Latrididae and Cheilodactylidae, found off New Zealand coasts; esp. (a) the…
   5. leaf fish 1827–
      A fish that resembles a leaf, esp. in having a thin flat body and cryptic coloration; esp. (in later use) any of various small predatory freshwater…
   6. icefish 1879–
      A fish that frequents icy water; esp. (a) North American the capelin, Mallotus villosus (family Osmeridae) (now rare); (b) any fish of the perciform…
   7. kelp-fish 1880–
      The name given to several fishes found on the Pacific coast of the United States; see also quot.
   8. harlequin smiler 1955–
      Merogymnus eximius, a small Australian perciform fish.
   9. blue eye 1978–
      More fully blue-eye trevalla, blue-eye cod. A large deep-water medusafish, Hyperoglyphe antarctica, of temperate southern seas, which is a popular…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1914–
   A small freshwater cyprinid fish with horizontal dark and light stripes, Danio rerio, native to the Himalayas, popular in aquariums, and much used in research. Also called zebra danio.
   1. 1914

      > Barbels from India: Barbus species, Danio rerio (Zebra fish). Chanchitos from South America: Heros fasciatus, [etc.].

      R. C. Osburn, Care of Home Aquaria 35
   2. 1962

      > The three black-and-white-striped zebra fish were speed-merchants [in the tank].

      Listener 22 November 852/2
   3. 2012

      > Zebrafish embryos and early larvae are becoming increasingly important as models in biomedical research.

      Behaviour vol. 149 1241
   fish
   1. snot-fish 1655–
      a. The lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus; b. a species of dace, Cyprinus (Leuciscus) dobula.
   2. gilt char 1673–1925
      The arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, esp. when lacking the red coloration typically found in spawning males; cf. case, n.³
   3. vrac 1673–
      The name given in the Channel Islands to a fish resembling a carp. Also attributive.
   4. carp 1789–
      Applied to other species of the genus Cyprinus, or family Cyprinidæ, to which belong the Gold and Silver Fish, the Prussian or Crucian Carp (C. gi…
   5. kurper 1831–
      A name used for several freshwater fishes resembling carp, esp. Sandelia capensis.
   6. Prussian carp 1836–
      A freshwater fish native to eastern Europe, Carassius gibelio (family Cyprinidae), often regarded as a form of the crucian carp (C. carassius) or as…
   7. cutlips 1876–
      A small cyprinid fish native to eastern North America, Exoglossum maxilingua, having a lower jaw divided into three distinct lobes, the central…
   8. grass carp 1885–
      A large herbivorous carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella, which is native to eastern Asia and farmed elsewhere, both as a food source and as a means of…
   9. saddle carp 1888–
      An ornamental variety of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio, which has a row of large scales down the back.
   10. zebrafish 1914–
       A small freshwater cyprinid fish with horizontal dark and light stripes, Danio rerio, native to the Himalayas, popular in aquariums, and much…
   11. white amur 1957–
       The grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella, which has juveniles of a silvery colour.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
3. 3.
   1927–
   Any of several striped scorpionfishes of the genera Pterois and Dendrochirus.
   1. 1927

      > Dendrochirus zebra (Cuvier and Valenciennes), a zebra fish.

      A. W. Herre, Fishery Resources of Philippine Islands 8 (caption)
   2. 1979

      > The scorpion fishes..often called butterfly cod or zebra fishes..are mostly hardy, attractive predators.

      H. F. Axelrod et al., Exotic Marine Fishes 121
   3. 1996

      > Scorpion fish include scorpion fish (Scorpaena), zebrafish (Pterois), lionfish, and stonefish (Synanceja).

      M. J. A. Bowman & B. E. Herman in G. R. Strange et al., Pediatric Emergency Medicine cxi. 599/2
   fish
   1. stone-fish 1668–
      A name for various fishes harbouring under stones (see quots.); esp. the highly venomous Synanceja verrucosa, of the family Scorpænidæ, a…
   2. grouper 1884–
      U.S. regional. Any of several rockfishes of the genus Sebastes (family Sebastidae), of the Pacific coast; esp. the Bocaccio rockfish, S. paucispinis…
   3. velvet fish 1898–
      (See quot.).
   4. zebrafish 1927–
      Any of several striped scorpionfishes of the genera Pterois and Dendrochirus.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. zebrafish 1927–
      Any of several striped scorpionfishes of the genera Pterois and Dendrochirus.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. zebra danio 1917–
      A small freshwater cyprinid fish with horizontal dark and light stripes, Danio rerio, native to the Himalayas, popular in aquariums, and much used…
   2. zebrafish 1927–
      Any of several striped scorpionfishes of the genera Pterois and Dendrochirus.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɛbrəˌfɪʃ/
ZEB-ruh-fish
/ˈziːbrəˌfɪʃ/
ZEE-bruh-fish

### U.S. English

/ˈzibrəˌfɪʃ/
ZEE-bruh-fish

####

##### 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 /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### 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 /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### 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

## Frequency

zebrafish typically occurs about 0.2 times per million words in modern written English.

zebrafish is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 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 zebrafish, n., 1950–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1950 | 0.0074
1960 | 0.011
1970 | 0.033
1980 | 0.1
1990 | 0.17
2000 | 0.21
2010 | 0.27

### Frequency of zebrafish, n., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

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 corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.18
2018 | 0.22
2019 | 0.26
2020 | 0.34
2021 | 0.4
2022 | 0.45
2023 | 0.48
2024 | 0.49

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

zebrafish, n. was revised in June 2018.

zebrafish, n. was last modified in July 2023.