zebra caterpillar, n.

zebra-caterpillar
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zebra-caterpillar_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zebra caterpillarnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zebra caterpillar mean?

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

### How common is the noun zebra caterpillar?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1860 | 0.0009
1870 | 0.0012
1880 | 0.0017
1890 | 0.0018
1900 | 0.0017
1910 | 0.0018
1920 | 0.0017
1930 | 0.0017
1940 | 0.0014
1950 | 0.0008
1960 | 0.0006
1970 | 0.0005
1980 | 0.0004
1990 | 0.0004
2000 | 0.0004
2010 | 0.0004

### Where does the noun zebra caterpillar come from?

Earliest known use

1840s

The earliest known use of the noun zebra caterpillar is in the 1840s.

OED's earliest evidence for zebra caterpillar is from 1841, in the writing of T. W. Harris.

### Nearby entries

1. zeal-scoffing, adj. 1605
2. zeal-transported, adj. a1644–59
3. zeal-worthy, adj. 1797
4. zea maize, n. 1811–
5. zearalanol, n. 1966–
6. zearalenone, n. 1966–
7. zeatin, n. 1963–
8. zeaxanthin, n. 1929–
9. Zebedist, n. 1574
10. zebra, n. 1597–
11. zebra caterpillar, n.1841–
12. zebra crossing, n. 1934–
13. zebra danio, n. 1917–
14. zebraed, adj. 1806–
15. zebra finch, n. 1868–
16. zebrafish, n. 1771–
17. zebraic, adj. 1858–
18. zebra marking, n. 1854–
19. zebra moray, n. 1933–
20. zebra mule, n. 1841–
21. zebra mussel, n. 1866–

## Meaning & use

1. 1841–
   The striped larva of a North American noctuid moth, Melanchra picta, which is sometimes a pest of cultivated vegetables.
   1. 1841

      > Dr. Melsheimer calls it the zebra-caterpillar, on account of its stripes.

      T. W. Harris, Report on Insects of Massachusetts 328
   2. 1901

      > The yellow Zebra caterpillar, conspicuously striped lengthwise with black, is commonly known on cabbage and other vegetables.

      M. C. Dickerson, Moths & Butterflies iii. 254
   3. 2005

      > The Zebra Caterpillar is occasionally reported as a pest on field crops and in gardens.

      D. L. Wagner, Caterpillars Eastern North Amer. 414

## Frequency

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

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

### Frequency of zebra caterpillar, 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 | 0.0009
1870 | 0.0012
1880 | 0.0017
1890 | 0.0018
1900 | 0.0017
1910 | 0.0018
1920 | 0.0017
1930 | 0.0017
1940 | 0.0014
1950 | 0.0008
1960 | 0.0006
1970 | 0.0005
1980 | 0.0004
1990 | 0.0004
2000 | 0.0004
2010 | 0.0004

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

zebra, n. was revised in June 2018.