zinc chromate, n.

zinc-chromate
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zinc-chromate_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zinc chromatenoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zinc chromate mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zinc chromate. 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 zinc chromate?

About 0.02occurrences per million words in modern written English

1860 | 0.0013
1870 | 0.002
1880 | 0.0037
1890 | 0.0047
1900 | 0.0092
1910 | 0.023
1920 | 0.031
1930 | 0.036
1940 | 0.04
1950 | 0.041
1960 | 0.042
1970 | 0.039
1980 | 0.027
1990 | 0.021
2000 | 0.017
2010 | 0.015

### Where does the noun zinc chromate come from?

Earliest known use

1850s

The earliest known use of the noun zinc chromate is in the 1850s.

OED's earliest evidence for zinc chromate is from 1851, in a translation by Henry Watts, chemist.

### Nearby entries

1. zinc, v. 1843–
2. zinc-air, adj. 1970–
3. Zincala, n. 1844–91
4. Zincalo, n. 1841–
5. zinc-alum, n. 1851–
6. zinc-amide, n. 1859–
7. zincate, n. 1872–
8. zinc-blende, n. 1842–
9. zinc-bloom, n. 1842–
10. zinc chloride, n. 1851–
11. zinc chromate, n.1851–
12. zinc chrome, n. 1892–
13. zinc-dust, n. 1877–
14. zinc finger, n. 1987–
15. zinc-foil, n. 1851–
16. zinc green, n. 1847–
17. zinc-grey | zinc-gray, n. 1881–
18. zincian, adj. 1930–
19. zincic, adj. 1860–
20. zinciferous, adj. 1820–
21. zincification, n. 1891–

## Meaning & use

1. 1851–
   A toxic, yellow, water-insoluble powder, ZnCrO4, used as a pigment.
   1. 1851

      > The crystals..really consisted of ordinary zinc-sulphate containing small quantities of zinc-chromate intimately bound up with them.

      H. Watts, translation of L. Gmelin, Hand-book of Chemistry vol. V. xxviii. 48
   2. 1974

      > Zinc yellow, a basic zinc chromate, is used as a corrosion-inhibiting primer on aircraft parts fabricated from aluminum or magnesium.

      Encyclopædia Britannica Macropædia vol. IV. 571/2
   1. yellow Old English–
      concrete. A pigment or dye of a yellow colour; a paint or other colouring matter containing this. Frequently with prefixed modifying word.
   2. motey 1353–1510
      An earth (perhaps similar to ochre) used as a pigment; (perhaps) a pigment which has a speckled or mottled appearance when applied.
   3. arsenic a1393–
      Μοre fully yellow arsenic: see yellow arsenic, n. 1. Arsenic trisulfide, As2S3, a bright yellow solid obtained as a mineral and formerly used as a…
   4. orpiment c1395–
      More fully yellow orpiment. Arsenic trisulfide, As2S3, a bright yellow mineral of the monoclinic system which occurs naturally as prismatic…
   5. auripigment a1398–1736
      A bright yellow mineral, the trisulfide of arsenic (As2S3), used by painters under the name of King's Yellow. Cf. arsenic, n. 1a.
   6. ochre 1440–
      The colour of any of these substances; esp. a pale brownish yellow.
   7. pink 1464–
      A yellowish or greenish-yellow lake pigment made by combining a vegetable colouring matter with a white base, such as a metallic oxide. Also †pink-…
   8. massicot 1472–
      The yellow, orthorhombic form of lead monoxide as it occurs naturally, used as a pigment. Cf. litharge, n. 1.
   9. yellow ochre 1482–
      A brownish-yellow variety of ochre containing limonite, typically used as a pigment; the colour of this; a pigment or paint of this colour.
   10. orpine 1548–1725
       The yellow mineral or pigment orpiment. Also figurative. Obsolete.
   11. spruce ochre?c1550–
       A yellow-brown variety of ochre obtained from Prussia; (also) ochre of a shade similar to this; cf. spruce yellow, n.
   12. spruce yellow 1572–
       A yellow-brown variety of ochre obtained from Prussia; (also) a pigment producing a similar colour, or a shade of yellow similar to this ochre; cf. sp…
   13. painter's gold 1591–1854
       a. Orpiment; b. powdered gold suspended in honey for use as a pigment.
   14. spruce 1668–1740
       Ochre of a yellow-brown shade; = spruce ochre, n. Obsolete.
   15. English pink 1697–
       a. a yellow lake pigment, or shade of yellow; = Dutch pink, n. 1; b. a pink colour (see quot. 1963).
   16. giallolino 1728–
       A fine yellow pigment (see quots.).
   17. king's yellow 1738–
       a. n. Arsenic trisulfide used as a dye or artist's pigment (now chiefly historical); cf. orpiment, n. 1, yellow arsenic, n. 1 b. adj. of the colour…
   18. Naples yellow 1738–
       A yellow pigment used in painting, originally made in Naples and consisting of lead antimonate, but now frequently a mixture of white zinc oxide and…
   19. Chinese yellow 1749–
       †a. A yellow pigment or dye made using acacia flowers (obsolete); b. a pigment consisting of yellow orpiment (arsenic trisulfide, As2S3) (now chiefly…
   20. stil de grain 1769–
       A yellow pigment (see quots.).
   21. yellow earth 1794
       a. Any of various earthy materials, esp. pigments, of a yellow colour; yellow ochre; a yellowish variety of bole; b. a yellowish loess occurring in…
   22. Turner's yellow 1795–
       A yellow pigment introduced by James Turner (see etymology), originally containing lead oxychloride; paint having the colour of this. Also called min…
   23. queen's yellow 1806–79
       A toxic yellow pigment consisting of a basic mercury sulfate; = turpeth mineral n. at turpeth, n. 2; cf. (in different sense) king's yellow, n.
   24. iron yellow 1814–
       Any of various bright yellow pigments prepared using iron oxides; esp. = Mars yellow at Mars, n.¹ compounds C.2a; the colour of such a pigment.
   25. chromate 1819–
       A salt of chromic acid; e.g. chromate of lead, PbCrO4, much used as a yellow pigment.
   26. chrome yellow 1819–
       The neutral chromate of lead (PbCrO4), used as a yellow pigment; also attributive.
   27. Oxford ochre 1827–
       A form of yellow ochre formerly obtained from deposits at Shotover, near Oxford.
   28. Indian yellow 1831–
       (The colour of) a bright orange-yellow pigment originally apparently obtained from the urine of cows fed on mango leaves, and consisting mainly…
   29. Italian pink 1835–
       = Dutch pink, n. 1.
   30. Montpellier yellow 1835–
       Painting. Turner's yellow, lead oxychloride (see Turner's yellow, n.).
   31. quercitron lake 1837–
       = quercitron yellow, n.
   32. jaune brillant 1851–
       Cadmium yellow (alone or in a mixture with white lead).
   33. zinc chromate 1851–
       A toxic, yellow, water-insoluble powder, ZnCrO4, used as a pigment.
   34. zinc sulphide 1851–
       A yellow, water-insoluble powder, ZnS, used as a pigment and as a phosphor.
   35. brush-gold 1861–
       Gold pigment for applying with a brush.
   36. zooxanthin 1868–
       A yellow carotenoid pigment found in the plumage of certain birds.
   37. Oxford chrome 1875–
       = Oxford ochre, n.
   38. aureolin 1879–
       A transparent yellow pigment.
   39. cadmium yellow 1879–
       An intense yellow pigment, consisting of cadmium sulfide, artificially prepared.
   40. Cassel yellow 1882–
       Used attributively to designate various pigments, as Cassel brown n. = Cassel earth n. Cassel earth n. a brown prepared from impure lignite…
   41. Neapolitan yellow 1891–
       = Naples yellow n. at Naples, n. 5.
   42. zinc chrome 1892–
       = zinc yellow, n. below.
   43. Mars 1899
       A yellow or orange Mars colour (see compounds C.2). Obsolete. rare.
   44. jaune jonquille 1910–
       (See quot. 1960).
   45. lead-ochre
       = massicot, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zinc chromate typically occurs about 0.02 times per million words in modern written English.

zinc chromate 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 data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zinc chromate, n., 1860–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1860 | 0.0013
1870 | 0.002
1880 | 0.0037
1890 | 0.0047
1900 | 0.0092
1910 | 0.023
1920 | 0.031
1930 | 0.036
1940 | 0.04
1950 | 0.041
1960 | 0.042
1970 | 0.039
1980 | 0.027
1990 | 0.021
2000 | 0.017
2010 | 0.015

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

zinc, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.