Zemblian, n. & adj.

zemblian
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zemblian_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# † Zembliannoun & adjective

## Factsheet

### What does the word Zemblian mean?

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

This word is now obsolete. It is last recorded around the late 1700s.

### Where does the word Zemblian come from?

Earliest known use

late 1600s

The earliest known use of the word Zemblian is in the late 1600s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zemblian is from 1674, in P. M. de la Martinière's New Voyage into Northern Countries.

From a proper name, combined with an English element; modelled on a French lexical item.

Etymons: proper name Nova Zembla, ‑ian suffix.

### Nearby entries

1. zelatrix, n. 1865–
2. Zeldovich, n. 1956–
3. Zelig, n. 1984–
4. Zelig-like, adj. 1983–
5. zelkova, n. 1836–
6. zelotypia, n. 1566–
7. zelotyping, adj. a1660
8. zelotypist, n.?1632
9. zelotypy, n. 1623–1794
10. Zemblan, n. & adj. 1674–1805
11. Zemblian, n. & adj.1674–1796
12. zemi, n. 1555–
13. zemiistic, adj. 1907–
14. zemirah, n. 1767–
15. zemni, n. 1775–
16. Zemsky Sobor, n. 1877–
17. zemstvo, n. 1865–
18. zemstvoist, n. 1904–
19. Zen, n. & adj. 1727–
20. Zen, v. 1968–
21. zenana, n. & adj. 1761–

## Etymology

### Summary

From a proper name, combined with an English element; modelled on a French lexical item.
Etymons: proper name Nova Zembla, ‑ian suffix.
< Zembla (in the name of Nova Zembla: see Zemblan n.) + ‑ian suffix, after French Zemblien (1671 in the passage translated in quot. 1674).

Compare Zemblan n., Zemblan adj.

## Meaning & use

Obsolete.

1. noun
   1. 1674–1796
      A native or inhabitant of Novaya Zemlya; = Zemblan n.
      1. 1674

         > Samoiedes, Siberians, Zemblians [French Zembliens].

         translation of P. M. de la Martinière, New Voyage into Northern Countries 34
      2. 1796

         > As the rude Zemblian views with anxious eyes The sun fast rolling from his wintry skies.

         St. J. Honeywood, Poem on President's Address 3
      1. Albanian c1400–
         A native or inhabitant of Albania, a country once located in the eastern Caucasus, in the regions that are now Azerbaijan and the southern part of…
      2. Georgian?a1425–
         A native or inhabitant of Georgia, a south-eastern European country situated on the east coast of the Black Sea.
      3. Armenian?1520–
         A native or inhabitant of Armenia; a person of Armenian descent.
      4. Moldave 1552–1856
         = Moldavian, n.
      5. Permian 1555–
         An inhabitant of the Perm region of Russia; spec. a member of the Komi or Udmurt people or a speaker of a Permic language.
      6. Anatolian 1588–
         An inhabitant or native of Anatolia, a region comprising the westernmost peninsula of Asia, bounded by the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the…
      7. Podolian 1603–
         A native or inhabitant of Podolia, a region in present-day south-western Ukraine.
      8. Lithuanian 1607–
         A native of Lithuania; also, the Lithuanian language, being one of the Lettic group of Aryan languages.
      9. Livonian 1652
         A native or inhabitant of Livonia, a historical region around the Gulf of Riga, corresponding to most of modern Latvia and Estonia.
      10. White Russian 1659–
          A native or inhabitant of various East Slavic areas formerly known collectively as White Russia. In later use chiefly: a native or inhabitant of an…
      11. Black Russian 1661–
          A native or inhabitant of the historical region of Black Ruthenia, in the western part of modern Belarus. Now historical and rare.
      12. Zemblan 1674–1794
          A native or inhabitant of Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in northern Russia.
      13. Zemblian 1674–1796
          A native or inhabitant of Novaya Zemlya; = Zemblan, n.
      14. Ukrainian 1694–
          A person from, or living in, Ukraine; a person of Ukrainian descent.
      15. Siberian 1719–
          A native of Siberia.
      16. Ukrainer 1744–
          A person from, or living in, Ukraine; a person of Ukrainian descent; = Ukrainian, n. A.1.
      17. Kurile 1764–
          A native or inhabitant of the Kurile islands.
      18. Crimean 1768–
          A native or inhabitant of the Crimea.
      19. Great Russian 1783–
          A native of the East Slavonic-speaking region excluding Belorussia (Belarus) and Ukraine (sometimes referred to historically as ‘Russia proper’); a…
      20. Little Russian 1799–
          A native or inhabitant of Ukraine, a Ukrainian; a Ruthenian. Cf. Malo-Russian, n., and also Great Russian, n., White Russian, n. A.1.
      21. Bessarabian 1835–
          An inhabitant of Bessarabia.
      22. Belorussian 1872–
          A native or inhabitant of Belarus; = Belarusian, n. B.1. Cf. White Russian, n. A.1a.
      23. Sibiriak 1903–
          A Siberian descended from European Russian settlers. Also attributive or as adj.
      24. Latvian 1941–
          A native or inhabitant of Latvia.
      25. Belarusian 1951–
          A native or inhabitant of Belarus. Cf. Belorussian, n. A.1, White Russian, n. A.1a.
      View in Historical Thesaurus
2. adjective
   1. a1761–89
      Of or relating to Novaya Zemlya; = Zemblan adj.
      1. a1761

         > Thy unwearied soul..gave to Britain half the zemblian sky.

         J. Cawthorn, Poems (1771) 179
      2. 1780

         > The Dutch..attempted a passage through the Zemblian Straits to China.

         E. Macfait, New Syst. General Geography i. 323
      3. 1789

         > With blood like Zemblian ice, and heart of stone.

         W. L. Brown, Ess. Sensibility iii. 82
      1. Arctic c1540–
         Geography. Designating the north polar region of the earth, which comprises the Arctic Ocean and the northernmost parts of Asia, Europe, and North…
      2. Zemblan 1729–1805
         Of or relating to Novaya Zemlya; (hence) arctic, northern.
      3. north polar 1744–
         Of or relating to a north pole, esp. the earth's North Pole.
      4. Zemblian a1761–89
         Of or relating to Novaya Zemlya; = Zemblan, adj.
      View in Historical Thesaurus
      1. Zemblian a1761–89
         Of or relating to Novaya Zemlya; = Zemblan, adj.
      2. White Russian 1799–
         Of or relating to Belarus, its people, or their language. Cf. Belarusian, adj., Belorussian, adj. Now historical.
      3. Ural-Altaic 1853–
         Pertaining or belonging to the region including the Ural range and the Altaic mountains (in central Asia), its inhabitants, or their speech. Also a…
      4. Belorussian 1888–
         Of or relating to Belarus, its people, or their language; = Belarusian, adj. Cf. White Russian, adj. B.1.
      View in Historical Thesaurus

Originally published as part of the entry for Zemblan, n. & adj.

Zemblian, n. & adj. was revised in June 2018.

Zemblian, n. & adj. was last modified in July 2023.