zymenoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zyme mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zyme. 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 zyme?
| 1880 | 0.0033 |
| 1890 | 0.0042 |
| 1900 | 0.0048 |
| 1910 | 0.0061 |
| 1920 | 0.0087 |
| 1930 | 0.012 |
| 1940 | 0.018 |
| 1950 | 0.023 |
| 1960 | 0.026 |
| 1970 | 0.027 |
| 1980 | 0.027 |
| 1990 | 0.028 |
| 2000 | 0.029 |
| 2010 | 0.025 |
How is the noun zyme pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zyme come from?
Earliest known use
1880s
The earliest known use of the noun zyme is in the 1880s.
OED's only evidence for zyme is from 1882, in Quain's Dictionary Medicine.
zyme is a borrowing from Greek.
Etymons: Greek ζύμη.
Nearby entries
- zygotically, adv.1915–
- zygotoblast, n.1899–
- zygotoid, n.1891–
- zygotomere, n.1899–
- -zygous, comb. form
- zygozoospore, n.1881–
- Zyklon, n.1939–
- zymad, n.1885–
- zymase, n.1875–
- zymate, n.1817–19
- zyme, n.1882–
- zymic, adj.1817–26
- zymin, n.1842–
- zyminized, adj.1888–
- zymo-, comb. form
- zymocyte, n.a1909–
- zymodeme, n.1978–
- zymogen, n.1877–
- zymogenetic, adj.1896–
- zymogenic, adj.1884–
- zymogluconate, n.1887–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1882–A name for the substance or principle causing a zymotic disease: cf. zymosis n.
- 1882
Corresponding with the adjective zymotic is the substantive zyme.., by which we refer to the poisonous cause of zymotic diseases.
Quain's Dictionary Medicine 1806
the world health ill health a disease, disorder, condition, etc. production of disease [nouns] agent or medium- infectiona1398–1871The agency, principle, or material by which (a) disease is transmitted or spread. Obsolete.
- leavena1400–1892More generally: any substance that produces (supposed) fermentation; a ferment (ferment, n. 1); a causative agent of a zymotic disease. Obsolete.
- virusa1400–Medicine. Originally: pus or other discharge produced by an ulcer or wound. Later: a substance produced within the body by a disease, esp. when…
- contagion1603–The substance or principle by which a contagious disease is transmitted; = contagium, n.
- taint1623–A contaminating, corrupting, or depraving influence, physical or moral; a cause or condition of corruption or decay; an infection.
- fomes1800–Medicine. Something that is capable of transferring a disease from one place or individual to another; spec. an object or substance that is…
- conductor1807–A medium which transmits or conveys any disease or other condition.
- infectant1832–An infecting or infectious agent.
- zymin1842–= zyme, n.
- contagium1870–spec. ‘The supposed solid or gaseous organized or unorganized substance by which infectious or contagious diseases are communicated’ (New Sydenham So…
- noxa1872–A substance, agent, condition, process, or influence that is harmful to the body.
- pathogen1880–A microorganism that causes disease. Also figurative.
- zyme1882–A name for the substance or principle causing a zymotic disease: cf. zymosis, n.
- auto-infectant1887= autointoxicant, n.
- insult1903–Medicine. Anything which tends to cause disease in or injury to the body or to disturb normal bodily processes; also, the resulting reaction, lesion…
- biological invader1939–a. A pest or pathogen; b. Ecology an organism or species that comes to populate an ecosystem to which it is not native, usually to the detriment of…
- bioinvader1959–= biological invader, n. (in either sense).
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.
Frequency
zyme typically occurs about 0.03 times per million words in modern written English.
zyme is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zyme, n., 1880–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880 | 0.0033 |
| 1890 | 0.0042 |
| 1900 | 0.0048 |
| 1910 | 0.0061 |
| 1920 | 0.0087 |
| 1930 | 0.012 |
| 1940 | 0.018 |
| 1950 | 0.023 |
| 1960 | 0.026 |
| 1970 | 0.027 |
| 1980 | 0.027 |
| 1990 | 0.028 |
| 2000 | 0.029 |
| 2010 | 0.025 |