zemi, n.

zemi
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zemi_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zeminoun

## Earlier version

- zeme in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zemi mean?

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

### How common is the noun zemi?

About 0.03occurrences per million words in modern written English

1760 | 0.004
1770 | 0.008
1780 | 0.007
1790 | 0.0066
1800 | 0.0063
1810 | 0.0068
1820 | 0.0073
1830 | 0.0082
1840 | 0.0049
1850 | 0.0056
1860 | 0.0059
1870 | 0.0057
1880 | 0.0074
1890 | 0.011
1900 | 0.016
1910 | 0.017
1920 | 0.018
1930 | 0.02
1940 | 0.022
1950 | 0.023
1960 | 0.024
1970 | 0.022
1980 | 0.025
1990 | 0.027
2000 | 0.028
2010 | 0.029

### How is the noun zemi pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈziːmi/
ZEE-mee
/səˈmiː/
suh-MEE

#### U.S. English

/ˈzimi/
ZEE-mee
/səˈmi/
suh-MEE

### Where does the noun zemi come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1500s

The earliest known use of the noun zemi is in the mid 1500s.

OED's earliest evidence for zemi is from 1555, in a translation by Richard Eden, translator.

zemi is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from Spanish.

Etymons: Latin zemen, zemes, Spanish cemí.

### Nearby entries

1. Zeldovich, n. 1956–
2. Zelig, n. 1984–
3. Zelig-like, adj. 1983–
4. zelkova, n. 1836–
5. zelotypia, n. 1566–
6. zelotyping, adj. a1660
7. zelotypist, n.?1632
8. zelotypy, n. 1623–1794
9. Zemblan, n. & adj. 1674–1805
10. Zemblian, n. & adj. 1674–1796
11. zemi, n.1555–
12. zemiistic, adj. 1907–
13. zemirah, n. 1767–
14. zemni, n. 1775–
15. Zemsky Sobor, n. 1877–
16. zemstvo, n. 1865–
17. zemstvoist, n. 1904–
18. Zen, n. & adj. 1727–
19. Zen, v. 1968–
20. zenana, n. & adj. 1761–
21. zenana cloth, n. 1885–

## Etymology

### Summary

Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from Spanish.
Etymons: Latin zemen, zemes, Spanish cemí.
Originally (i) (in α forms) < post-classical Latin zemes (plural; accusative singular zemen) (1533 in the passages translated in quots. 15551 and 15552, respectively);

in β forms (ii) < Spanish cemí, zemí, zemi (mid…
Originally (i) (in α forms) < post-classical Latin zemes (plural; accusative singular zemen) (1533 in the passages translated in quots. 15551 and 15552, respectively);

in β forms (ii) < Spanish cemí, zemí, zemi (mid 16th cent., now historical);

both < Taino cemi (with stress on the second syllable).

### Notes

The form zemes, used in the translation of Peter Martyr's account as both singular and plural (compare quots. 15551 and 15552), was later reinterpreted as an English plural, leading to the singular form zeme (first attested in quot. 1650).

## Meaning & use

Chiefly historical.

1. 1555–
   A god or ancestral spirit venerated by the Taino, an Indigenous people formerly inhabiting the Caribbean (cf. Taino n. & adj.); a representation of such a god or spirit, esp. one taking the form of a carved triangular object of stone or shell.
   1. 1555

      > In thenterance of this caue they haue twoo grauen Zemes [Latin zemes].

      R. Eden, translation of Peter Martyr of Angleria, Decades of Newe Worlde i.ix. f. 45
   2. 1555

      > He persuadeth hym that his Zemes [L.zemen] is angry, eyther bycause he hath not buylded hym a chapell, or not honored hym religiously.

      R. Eden, translation of Peter Martyr of Angleria, Decades of Newe Worlde i.ix. f. 46
   3. 1650

      > Such are the Zemes among the Indians so often spoken of by Peter Martyr..; Every King among them hath such a..Zeme.

      T. Thorowgood, Iewes in Amer. 15
   4. 1664

      > In the Indies, the Catholick Spaniards took away the Zemes or Images of their Idols.

      J. Owen, Vindication of Animadversions on Fiat Lux xxi. 487
   5. 1760

      > The Zemes communicated themselves more particularly to the Butios, for thus they called their priests.

      T. Jefferys, Natural & Civil History of French Dominions in North & South Amer. vol. II. 14
   6. 1792

      > His once-lov'd isle, For crimes yet unaton'd, dread Zemi thus To desolation and to death consigns.

      B. Edwards, Poems 19
   7. 1851

      > Through these Zemi the kings governed the people.

      E. Jones, Notes to People vol. I. 56/1
   8. 1891

      > Certain of these Zemes had prophetic powers, and by a skillful arrangement a concealed person was able to utter responses through the medium of the Zeme.

      American Anthropologist vol. 4 172
   9. 1902

      > They recognized and worshipped many supernatural beings, which they represented by idols to which they have the name zemis.

      Science 18 July 101/2
   10. 1962

       > Sickness or misfortune were the work of malignant or displeased zemes.

       M. Craton, Hist. Bahamas ii. 27
   11. 2005

       > The role of zemís in Taíno culture has similarities and differences to the role of sacred images in their ancestral South American homeland.

       N. J. Saunders, Peoples of Carib. 323
   historical
   1. teraphim 1382–
      A kind of idols or images, or an idol or image; apparently esp. household gods; an object of reverence… Plural or indefinite.
   2. zemi 1555–
      A god or ancestral spirit venerated by the Taino, an Indigenous people formerly inhabiting the Caribbean (cf. Taino, n. & adj.); a…
   3. joss 1711–
      In Chinese and (occasionally) other East Asian contexts: a statue or figurine depicting a god or other important figure; an idol. Also used as a name…
   4. mumbo-jumbo 1738–
      A god or spirit said to have been worshipped by certain West African peoples; a representation of this; an idol. Now historical.
   5. swami 1773–
      A Hindu idol.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈziːmi/
ZEE-mee
/səˈmiː/
suh-MEE

### U.S. English

/ˈzimi/
ZEE-mee
/səˈmi/
suh-MEE
/zəˈmi/
zuh-MEE

###
Plural: zemies

### British English

/ˈziːmiz/
ZEE-meez
/səˈmiːz/
suh-MEEZ

### U.S. English

/ˈzimiz/
ZEE-meez
/səˈmiz/
suh-MEEZ
/zəˈmiz/
zuh-MEEZ

####

##### 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 /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### 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 /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### 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.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Inflections

Plural: zemis, zemies ( British English /ˈziːmiz/ (ZEE-meez) , /səˈmiːz/ (suh-MEEZ) , U.S. English /ˈzimiz/ (ZEE-meez) , /səˈmiz/ (suh-MEEZ) , /zəˈmiz/ (zuh-MEEZ) )

### Variant forms

##### α.

1. 1500s
   zemes, zemes (plural)
2. 1600s–
   zeme

##### β.

1. 1700s–
   cemi, zemi
2. 2000s–
   zemí

## Frequency

zemi typically occurs about 0.03 times per million words in modern written English.

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

### Frequency of zemi, n., 1760–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1760 | 0.004
1770 | 0.008
1780 | 0.007
1790 | 0.0066
1800 | 0.0063
1810 | 0.0068
1820 | 0.0073
1830 | 0.0082
1840 | 0.0049
1850 | 0.0056
1860 | 0.0059
1870 | 0.0057
1880 | 0.0074
1890 | 0.011
1900 | 0.016
1910 | 0.017
1920 | 0.018
1930 | 0.02
1940 | 0.022
1950 | 0.023
1960 | 0.024
1970 | 0.022
1980 | 0.025
1990 | 0.027
2000 | 0.028
2010 | 0.029

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zemiism, n. 1902–

1. zemiistic, adj. 1907–

zemi, n. was revised in June 2018.

zemi, n. was last modified in July 2023.