Zimmernoun
Factsheet
What does the noun Zimmer mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun Zimmer. 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 noun Zimmer?
| 1960 | 0.0088 |
| 1970 | 0.011 |
| 1980 | 0.013 |
| 1990 | 0.013 |
| 2000 | 0.014 |
| 2010 | 0.016 |
How is the noun Zimmer pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun Zimmer come from?
Earliest known use
1950s
The earliest known use of the noun Zimmer is in the 1950s.
OED's earliest evidence for Zimmer is from 1951, in Trade Marks Journal.
Nearby entries
- zilla parishad, n.1957–
- zillion, n. & adj.1920–
- zillionaire, n.1926–
- zillionth, n. & adj.1940–
- zimb, n.1790–
- Zimba, n.1625–
- Zimbabwe, n.1891–
- Zimbabwean, adj. & n.1961–
- zimbel, n.1888–
- zimme, n.1848–63
- Zimmer, n.1951–
- zina, n.1817–
- zinc, n.1651–
- zinc, v.1843–
- zinc-air, adj.1970–
- Zincala, n.1844–91
- Zincalo, n.1841–
- zinc-alum, n.1851–
- zinc-amide, n.1859–
- zincate, n.1872–
- zinc-blende, n.1842–
Etymology
Meaning & use
- 1951–A proprietary name for orthopædic appliances, used esp. attrib. to designate a kind of walking frame.
- 1951
Zimmer... Orthopaedic appliances and instruments. Zimmer Orthopaedic Limited,..London, W.1..; manufacturers.
Trade Marks Journal 11 April 358/1 - 1957
Zimmer. For orthopedic appliances and fracture equipment. First use in May of 1927.
Official Gazette (U.S. Patent Office) 16 April tm116/2 - 1974
For patients with unsteadiness and ataxia, a simple walking frame of ‘Zimmer’ pattern is valuable.
R. Passmore & J. S. Robson, Companion to Medical Studies vol. III. ii. xxxiv. 103/1 - 1981
I had felt too ill to try and use my zimmer~frame and calipers.
Church Times 10 April 14/4 - 1982
Incapable of walking without a Zimmer frame.
E. Dewhurst, Whoever I Am iii. 44
- walking frame1899–A free-standing metal frame used as a walking aid by a person who holds or leans on handles at the top; cf. walker, n.¹ II.11b.
- walker1941–= walking frame, n.
- frame1947–= walking frame, n. Cf. Zimmer, n.
- Zimmer1951–A proprietary name for orthopædic appliances, used esp. attrib. to designate a kind of walking frame.
the world health healing medical appliances or equipment surgical supports [adjectives] walking-frame- Zimmer1951–A proprietary name for orthopædic appliances, used esp. attrib. to designate a kind of walking frame.
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. English
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Forms
Variant forms
Also zimmer.Frequency
Zimmer typically occurs about 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
Zimmer is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of Zimmer, n., 1960–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.0088 |
| 1970 | 0.011 |
| 1980 | 0.013 |
| 1990 | 0.013 |
| 2000 | 0.014 |
| 2010 | 0.016 |
Frequency of Zimmer, n., 2017–2024
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.
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 corpus.
| Period | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 0.04 |
| 2019 | 0.039 |
| 2020 | 0.033 |
| 2021 | 0.031 |
| 2022 | 0.028 |
| 2023 | 0.024 |
| 2024 | 0.021 |