zebra print, n. & adj.

zebra-print
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zebra-print_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2017

# zebra printnoun & adjective

## Factsheet

### What does the word zebra print mean?

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

### How common is the word zebra print?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1950 | 0.0001
1960 | 0.0004
1970 | 0.0013
1980 | 0.0019
1990 | 0.0022
2000 | 0.0027
2010 | 0.0033

### Where does the word zebra print come from?

Earliest known use

1930s

The earliest known use of the word zebra print is in the 1930s.

OED's earliest evidence for zebra print is from 1932, in New York Times.

### Nearby entries

1. zebraic, adj. 1858–
2. zebra marking, n. 1854–
3. zebra moray, n. 1933–
4. zebra mule, n. 1841–
5. zebra mussel, n. 1866–
6. zebrano, n. 1908–
7. zebra opossum, n. 1808–
8. zebra parakeet, n. 1856–
9. zebra plant, n. 1826–
10. zebra poison, n. 1871–74
11. zebra print, n. & adj.1932–
12. zebra rhomb, n. 1770–1844
13. zebra rock, n. 1895–
14. zebra rush, n. 1882–
15. zebra shark, n. 1804–
16. zebra skin, n. 1774–
17. zebra spider, n. 1806–
18. zebra suit, n. 1853–
19. zebra swallowtail, n. 1855–
20. zebra wolf, n. 1808–
21. zebrawood, n. 1768–

## Meaning & use

1. 1932–
   a. n. A pattern, motif, etc., resembling the striped coat of a zebra; (also) a fabric bearing such a design; b. adj. designating any of various products, esp. textile fabrics, garments, etc., having this design.
   1. 1932

      > Schiaparelli's Paisley patterns and Lanvin's checkered or zigzag or zebra prints are a change from floral designs.

      New York Times 14 February viii. 13
   2. 1942

      > Playsuit and overskirt of zebra-print spun rayon.

      Harper's Bazaar December 68 (advertisement)
   3. 1978

      > She is dressed in zebra print with see-through sleeves and plunging neckline.

      Washington Post 31 August a3/1
   4. 2011

      > Add a zebra-print rug, and you have instant glamour.

      J. DeMontravel, Hers i. 23
   textiles
   1. motley c1380–
      Diversified in colour; variegated; particoloured; chequered; multicoloured. Formerly also: †made of motley (sense A.1a) (obsolete).
   2. variant a1400–1600
      Of colours: Varied, variegated. Also of cloth or an animal in respect of colour. Obsolete.
   3. shadowed 1639
      Of textile fabrics: Having colours or tints gradually passing one into another. Obsolete.
   4. mixture 1784–
      Of a fabric: having a mottled or variegated colouring. Of a garment, etc.: made of such material. Cf. sense A.II.6.
   5. corbeau 1810–
      In the drapery trade, name for a dark green colour verging on black.
   6. Lovat 1895–
      Designating a type of tweed or a garment made of this; (also) designating a muted shade of a colour characteristic of this tweed, or something…
   7. zebra print 1932–
      a. n. A pattern, motif, etc., resembling the striped coat of a zebra; (also) a fabric bearing such a design; b. adj. designating any of various…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. zebra marking 1854–
      a. (Frequently in plural) stripes or markings resembling those of a zebra; spec. dark and light stripes applied to a road surface to indicate a…
   2. candy stripe 1875–
      a. n. A pattern of alternating stripes of white and another colour, typically pink or red, resembling the pattern of a candy cane; b. adj. patterned…
   3. Peking stripe 1879–
      A fabric design of coloured stripes, characteristic of pekin (see Peking, n. 1).
   4. ribbon grain 1932–
      A stripe that is visible in the grain of mahogany and certain other hardwoods when quarter-sawn; frequently attributive.
   5. zebra print 1932–
      a. n. A pattern, motif, etc., resembling the striped coat of a zebra; (also) a fabric bearing such a design; b. adj. designating any of various…
   6. ribbon figure 1933–
      = ribbon grain, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

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

zebra print is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 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 print, n. & adj., 1950–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1950 | 0.0001
1960 | 0.0004
1970 | 0.0013
1980 | 0.0019
1990 | 0.0022
2000 | 0.0027
2010 | 0.0033

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

zebra print, n. & adj. was first published in 2017.