zoofulnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zooful mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zooful. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun zooful?
| 1940 | 0.0005 |
| 1950 | 0.0005 |
| 1960 | 0.0005 |
| 1970 | 0.0005 |
| 1980 | 0.0004 |
| 1990 | 0.0004 |
| 2000 | 0.0004 |
| 2010 | 0.0004 |
Where does the noun zooful come from?
Earliest known use
1910s
The earliest known use of the noun zooful is in the 1910s.
OED's earliest evidence for zooful is from 1914, in the writing of A. B. Spens.
Nearby entries
- zooculture, n.1873–
- zoocytium, n.1880–
- zoodendrium, n.1880–
- Zoodikers, int.1749–98
- zoodynamic, adj.?1819–
- zoodynamics, n.1888–
- zooecial, adj.1873–
- zooecium, n.1871–
- zooerythrin, n.1871–
- zooflagellate, n. & adj.1911–
- zooful, n.1914–
- zoofulvin, n.1871–
- zoogamete, n.1879–
- zoogene, n.1820–69
- zoogenic, adj.1842–
- zoogeny, n.1826–
- zoogeographer, n.1868–
- zoogeographic, adj.1875–
- zoogeographical, adj.1864–
- zoogeographically, adv.1883–
- zoogeography, n.1851–
Meaning & use
- 1914–A quantity (of animals) that would fill a zoo; (in extended use) a large group (of people), often characterized as boisterous, noisy, etc.Stressed as ˈzooful.
- 1914
A few of the Indians were apparently busy, but the great majority squatted in the sun, chattering like a zooful of monkeys.
A. B. Spens, Winter in India 52 - 1974
He's got a zooful of friends, too.
S. King, Carrie (1975) 100 - 1991
A school bus pulled up beside the schoolyard and disgorged a zooful of primary schoolers.
D. Richler, Kicking Tomorrow vi. 100 - 2011
Well-loved poet introduces a veritable zooful of real and imaginary animals.
Times (Nexis) 15 October 32
the world relative properties measurement the scientific measurement of volume measure(s) of capacity amount defined by capacity [nouns] amount that fills a building- housefulc1300–A quantity (of people) that fills a house; as much or as many as a house can hold. Frequently with of.
- shopful1613–As much or as many as a shop will hold. Hence: a very large amount or number.
- churchful1779–The whole number or quantity of people to be found in a church; (also) as many or as much as a church will contain.
- stableful1834–As much or as many as fills a stable.
- officeful1845–The whole number or quantity of people or things to be found in an office; (also) an amount which would fill an office.
- warehouseful1859–
- coteful1865–As many as fill a cote.
- zooful1914–A quantity (of animals) that would fill a zoo; (in extended use) a large group (of people), often characterized as boisterous, noisy, etc.
the world space relative position arrangement or fact of being arranged state of being gathered together an assemblage or collection [nouns] of people or animals regarded as a whole or a body of people gathered large or numerous disorderly- frapec1330–1710A crowd; a mob, the rabble.
- rabblea1398–A disorderly, disorganized, or unruly crowd; a boisterous throng of people; a mob.
- rafflea1450–†A group (of young men or boys) (obsolete). Also: a group of worthless or contemptible people, riff-raff; a rowdy group of people, a rabble (also…
- unlawful assembly1485–An illegal gathering of people; spec. (English Law) a gathering of three or more people who intend to commit an act of violence or breach of the…
- rabblement1543–A disorderly, disorganized, or unruly crowd; = rabble, n.¹ A.I.1a. Frequently with of. Now chiefly literary or Scottish and English regional (northern…
- rabble rout?1589–= rabble, n.¹ A.I.1a, A.I.1b.
- ringat-rangata1600Disorderly, disorganized, or unruly people.
- hurry1620–1716concrete. A confused crowd, a mob. Obsolete. rare.
- ribble-rabble1635–Motley, disorderly, or unruly people; rabble; (as a count noun) an unruly crowd. Also: confusion, disorderliness; a confused state.
- tempest1746–A confused or tumultuous throng; †a crowded assembly: cf. hurricane, n. 2b (obsolete); a rushing or tearing crowd.
- cohue1850–An unruly crowd; a mob.
- pig pile1880–A disordered mass or heap of people, formed around an individual on whom others jump. Also figurative. Cf. dog pile, n. 1.
- dog pile1921–A disordered mass or heap of people, formed around an individual on whom others jump. Also figurative. Cf. pig pile, n.
- scrummage1968–A disorderly crowd of people or things; = scrum, n. 2b.
- scrimmage1971–A disorderly crowd of people or things. Cf. scrummage, n. 3.
- zooful1974–A quantity (of animals) that would fill a zoo; (in extended use) a large group (of people), often characterized as boisterous, noisy, etc.
Frequency
zooful typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zooful is in frequency band 1, which contains words occurring fewer than 0.001 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zooful, n., 1940–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1940 | 0.0005 |
| 1950 | 0.0005 |
| 1960 | 0.0005 |
| 1970 | 0.0005 |
| 1980 | 0.0004 |
| 1990 | 0.0004 |
| 2000 | 0.0004 |
| 2010 | 0.0004 |