zinc sulphide, n.

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

# zinc sulphidenoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zinc sulphide mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zinc sulphide. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

This word is used in U.S. English.

#### 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 sulphide?

About 0.1occurrences per million words in modern written English

1860 | 0.068
1870 | 0.12
1880 | 0.17
1890 | 0.2
1900 | 0.25
1910 | 0.32
1920 | 0.36
1930 | 0.38
1940 | 0.35
1950 | 0.31
1960 | 0.26
1970 | 0.22
1980 | 0.15
1990 | 0.12
2000 | 0.084
2010 | 0.073

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

Earliest known use

1850s

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

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

### Nearby entries

1. zincographic, adj. 1850–
2. zincography, n. 1834–
3. zincoid, n. 1842–
4. zinc orange, n. 1918–
5. zincous, adj. 1842–
6. zinc-plate, n. 1823–
7. zinc-powder, n. 1881–
8. zinc roof, n. 1883–
9. zinc spar, n. 1796–
10. zinc-sponge, n. 1902–
11. zinc sulphide, n.1851–
12. zinc white, n. 1847–
13. zincy, adj. 1757–
14. zinc yellow, n. 1847–
15. zindabad, int. & n. 1930–
16. zindan, n. 1844–
17. Zindikite, n. 1694–
18. Zindiq, n. 1667–
19. zine, n. 1946–
20. zineb, n. 1950–
21. zines, int.?1701–10

## Meaning & use

U.S.

1. 1851–
   A yellow, water-insoluble powder, ZnS, used as a pigment and as a phosphor.
   1. 1851

      > Nöggerath and Bischof..found in an old mine a quantity of zinc-sulphide mixed with washings of the ore.

      H. Watts, translation of L. Gmelin, Hand-book of Chemistry vol. V. xxviii. 19
   2. 1937

      > The [television] screen is coated with a powder consisting of zinc sulphide and other chemicals.

      Discovery February 44/2
   3. 1974

      > Zinc sulfide is insoluble in water but dissolves in mineral acids.

      Encyclopædia Britannica Micropædia vol. X. 883/3
   chemistry U.S. English
   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
   1. white rust 1677–
      A white coating or discoloration produced on the surface of various metals by exposure to moist air or other corrosive agents; esp. (in early use)…
   2. zinc chloride 1851–
      A white, crystalline, deliquescent solid, ZnCl2, used as a preservative, a flux, and in Leclanché cells.
   3. zinc sulphide 1851–
      A yellow, water-insoluble powder, ZnS, used as a pigment and as a phosphor.
   4. zinc-dust 1877–
      Zinc in the form of fine powder (often mixed with zinc oxide and other impurities), obtained by grinding, or in the extraction of zinc from its…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Forms

### Variant forms

Also zinc sulfide.

## Frequency

zinc sulphide typically occurs about 0.1 times per million words in modern written English.

zinc sulphide is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 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 sulphide, 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 | 0.068
1870 | 0.12
1880 | 0.17
1890 | 0.2
1900 | 0.25
1910 | 0.32
1920 | 0.36
1930 | 0.38
1940 | 0.35
1950 | 0.31
1960 | 0.26
1970 | 0.22
1980 | 0.15
1990 | 0.12
2000 | 0.084
2010 | 0.073

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

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