Zetland, n.

zetland
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zetland_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# Zetlandnoun

## Earlier version

- Zetland in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zetland mean?

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

### How common is the noun Zetland?

About 0.02occurrences per million words in modern written English

1750 | 0.0075
1760 | 0.0076
1770 | 0.0077
1780 | 0.008
1790 | 0.0084
1800 | 0.009
1810 | 0.0095
1820 | 0.0097
1830 | 0.01
1840 | 0.011
1850 | 0.011
1860 | 0.012
1870 | 0.012
1880 | 0.012
1890 | 0.013
1900 | 0.013
1910 | 0.013
1920 | 0.014
1930 | 0.014
1940 | 0.015
1950 | 0.015
1960 | 0.016
1970 | 0.016
1980 | 0.017
1990 | 0.017
2000 | 0.017
2010 | 0.018

### How is the noun Zetland pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɛtlənd/
ZET-luhnd

#### U.S. English

/ˈzɛtlənd/
ZET-luhnd

### Where does the noun Zetland come from?

Earliest known use

late 1500s

The earliest known use of the noun Zetland is in the late 1500s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zetland is from 1577.

From a proper name.

Etymons: proper name Zetland, Shetland.

### Nearby entries

1. zeta, n.² 1706–1860
2. zetacism, n. 1860–
3. zeta function, n. 1879–
4. zeta-ic, adj. 1840–1927
5. zeta potential, n. 1927–
6. zetetic, adj. & n. 1645–
7. zetetical, adj. & n. 1646–
8. zetetically, adv. 1665–
9. Zetetical Society, n. 1881–
10. zetetics, n. 1843–
11. Zetland, n.1577–
12. Zetlander, n. 1614–
13. Zetlandic, adj. 1701–
14. zetta-, comb. form
15. Zeuglodon, n. 1839–
16. zeuglodont, n. & adj. 1850–
17. zeuglodontoid, adj. & n. 1891
18. zeugma, n. c1450–
19. zeugmatic, adj. 1851–
20. zeugmatical, adj. 1610–
21. zeugmatically, adv. 1616–

## Etymology

### Summary

From a proper name.
Etymons: proper name Zetland, Shetland.
< Zetland, †Ȝetland, †Yetland (1506 or earlier), Scots variants of the name of Shetland (see Shetland n.…
< Zetland, †Ȝetland, †Yetland (1506 or earlier), Scots variants of the name of Shetland (see Shetland n.).

### Notes

In early use in Scots, the initial z- of the β forms represents the initial palatal glide ( /j/ ) which is represented more transparently in the α forms (see discussion at G n. and Z n.). This initial glide is also reflected in the post-classical Latin form of the place name Yhetlandia (see Shetland n.). Compare also Norn (Shetland) Yealtaland (a1700, reported in an English context). The current spelling pronunciation (with initial /z/ ) arose in the 19th cent.
As a place name, the form Zetland survives in some official and formalized uses, such as the name of the former County of Zetland (until 1974), and in the title of the Marquess of Zetland.

## Meaning & use

Now rare.

1. 1577–
   attributive. Designating things (esp. articles of trade and animals) imported from, associated with, or otherwise characteristic of the Shetland Islands. Cf. Shetland n.
   1. 1577

      > The unlaw..that fallis to the sheriff is thre merkis Ȝetland [reading in MS; printed Zetland] payment, viz.—ane dolor.

      in D. Balfour, Oppress. 16th Century Orkney & Zetland (1859) 46
   2. 1608

      > Tua Ȝetland ȝowis price of the pece ourheid xij li.

      Edinburgh Testaments vol. XLIV. f. 154v in Dictionary of Older Scottish Tongue at Ȝetland, Ȝeitland, Yetland
   3. 1620

      > Tua ald Ȝetland horsis price of the peice iiij li.

      Orkney & Shetland Test. vol. I. f. 56v in Dictionary of Older Scottish Tongue at Ȝetland, Ȝeitland, Yetland
   4. 1702

      > To Jamie Gray for the brydle to the zetland pownie.

      in A. W. C. Hallen, Account Book Sir J. Foulis (1894) 307
   5. 1747

      > To be sold cheap, fine Zetland hard Fish.

      Caledonian Mercury 14 July
   6. 1777

      > The filaments of the best Zetland wool are much finer and softer than Spanish wool.

      J. Anderson, Observ. Nat. Industry v. 87
   7. 1809

      > The native Zetland horse is very small.

      A. Edmondston, View Zetland Islands vol. I. 206
   8. 1820

      > The chief markets for Zetland fish are Great Britain, Ireland, and Spain.

      A. Edmonston, Observ. Cod Fishery Zetland & Orkney Islands 32
   9. 1886

      > The finer articles, now known as Zetland shawls, veils, etc., were not manufactured till a much more recent date.

      Our Corner October 222
   10. 1953

       > The indigenous Highland breed, the only survival of which is to be seen today in the undersized Zetland sheep.

       A. K. Cairncross, Collier's Crofting Probl. iv. 44
   1. west isles c1400–1860
      a. The British Isles (rare); b. the Western Isles of Scotland, esp. the Outer Hebrides.
   2. mainland 1503–
      Any such large continuous extent of land viewed from the perspective of the inhabitants of the… The largest island of Shetland (Mainland); the…
   3. Western Islands 1577–
      a. The Azores (now rare); b. the Hebrides; cf. Western Isle, n.
   4. Western Isles 1577–
      In plural. The Hebrides. Also in singular: any one of these islands. Cf. west isles, n.
   5. Zetland 1577–
      attributive. Designating things (esp. articles of trade and animals) imported from, associated with, or otherwise characteristic of the Shetland…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɛtlənd/
ZET-luhnd

### U.S. English

/ˈzɛtlənd/
ZET-luhnd

####

##### 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

### Variant forms

##### α. Scottish

1. pre-1700
   Ȝeitland, Ȝetland, Yetland

##### β.

1. 1600s–
   Zetland

## Frequency

Zetland typically occurs about 0.02 times per million words in modern written English.

Zetland 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 Zetland, n., 1750–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1750 | 0.0075
1760 | 0.0076
1770 | 0.0077
1780 | 0.008
1790 | 0.0084
1800 | 0.009
1810 | 0.0095
1820 | 0.0097
1830 | 0.01
1840 | 0.011
1850 | 0.011
1860 | 0.012
1870 | 0.012
1880 | 0.012
1890 | 0.013
1900 | 0.013
1910 | 0.013
1920 | 0.014
1930 | 0.014
1940 | 0.015
1950 | 0.015
1960 | 0.016
1970 | 0.016
1980 | 0.017
1990 | 0.017
2000 | 0.017
2010 | 0.018

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. Zetlander, n. 1614–
   A native or inhabitant of the Shetland Islands…

1. Zetlandic, adj. 1701–
   Of, belonging to, or relating to the Shetland…

Zetland, n. was revised in June 2018.

Zetland, n. was last modified in September 2024.