zygotically, adv.

zygotically
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zygotically_adv%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zygoticallyadverb

## Factsheet

### What does the adverb zygotically mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adverb zygotically. 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 adverb zygotically?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1910 | 0.0017
1920 | 0.0014
1930 | 0.0013
1940 | 0.0011
1950 | 0.0013
1960 | 0.002
1970 | 0.0022
1980 | 0.0026
1990 | 0.0029
2000 | 0.0034
2010 | 0.0042

### Where does the adverb zygotically come from?

Earliest known use

1910s

The earliest known use of the adverb zygotically is in the 1910s.

OED's earliest evidence for zygotically is from 1915, in Journal of Genetics.

### Nearby entries

1. zygospondyline, adj. 1892–
2. zygospore, n. 1864–
3. zygosporic, adj. 1906–
4. zygostat, n. 1623
5. zygostatical, adj. 1656
6. zygostyle, n. 1881–
7. zygote, n. 1891–
8. zygotene, n. 1911–
9. zygotic, adj. 1909–
10. -zygotic, comb. form
11. zygotically, adv.1915–
12. zygotoblast, n. 1899–
13. zygotoid, n. 1891–
14. zygotomere, n. 1899–
15. -zygous, comb. form
16. zygozoospore, n. 1881–
17. Zyklon, n. 1939–
18. zymad, n. 1885–
19. zymase, n. 1875–
20. zymate, n. 1817–19
21. zyme, n. 1882–

## Meaning & use

Biology.

1. 1915–
   In the zygote; in terms of the zygote.
   Stressed as zyˈgotically.
   1. 1915

      > Zygotically therefore the three forms [of rabbit] may be represented thus: Self-coloured..CCSS, Himalayan..CCss, Albino..ccss.

      Journal of Genetics vol. 5 45
   2. 1931

      > It is probable that the new combinations will be less successful than the old, both zygotically and gametically.

      Journal of Genetics vol. 24 448
   3. 1980

      > The possibility that essential loci in the zeste-white region of the Drosophila melanogaster X chromosome are expressed both maternally and zygotically has been tested.

      Genetics vol. 96 187
   life sciences physiology
   1. zygotically 1915–
      In the zygote; in terms of the zygote.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zygotically typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

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

### Frequency of zygotically, adv., 1910–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1910 | 0.0017
1920 | 0.0014
1930 | 0.0013
1940 | 0.0011
1950 | 0.0013
1960 | 0.002
1970 | 0.0022
1980 | 0.0026
1990 | 0.0029
2000 | 0.0034
2010 | 0.0042

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

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