zooty, adj.

zooty
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zooty_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2017

# zootyadjective

## Factsheet

### What does the adjective zooty mean?

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

### How common is the adjective zooty?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1940 | 0.0006
1950 | 0.0006
1960 | 0.0006
1970 | 0.0006
1980 | 0.0006
1990 | 0.0005
2000 | 0.0006
2010 | 0.0005

### How is the adjective zooty pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzuːti/
ZOO-tee

#### U.S. English

/ˈzudi/
ZOO-dee

### Where does the adjective zooty come from?

Earliest known use

1940s

The earliest known use of the adjective zooty is in the 1940s.

OED's earliest evidence for zooty is from 1942, in Thomasville (Georgia) Times-Enterprise.

zooty is formed within English, by derivation.

Etymons: zoot suit n., zoot n., ‑y suffix1.

### Nearby entries

1. zootomic, adj. 1801–
2. zootomical, adj. 1799–
3. zootomically, adv. 1849–
4. zootomist, n. 1663–
5. zootomy, n. 1663–
6. zootoxin, n. 1906–
7. zootrophy, n. 1877–
8. zoot suit, n. 1942–
9. zoot-suited, adj. 1942–
10. zoot-suiter, n. 1942–
11. zooty, adj.1942–
12. zootype, n. 1883–
13. zootypic, adj. 1853–
14. zoowoman, n. 1930–
15. zooxanthella, n. 1882–
16. zooxanthellate, adj. & n. 1981–
17. zooxanthin, n. 1868–
18. zoozygosphere, n. 1880–
19. zope, n. 1880–
20. zophoric, adj. 1728–
21. zophorus | zoophorus, n. 1563–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by derivation.
< either zoot (in zoot suit n.) or zoot n. + ‑y suffix1.

## Meaning & use

slang (originally U.S.).

1. 1.
   1942–
   That is in the style of a zoot suit (zoot suit n. 1).
   1. 1942

      > Coats are loose and baggy although not zooty.

      Thomasville (Georgia) Times-Enterprise 24 September 5/4
   2. 1946

      > Colored kids..work on their dungarees, pegging the legs till they're real sharp and zooty.

      M. Mezzrow & B. Wolfe, Really Blues iv. xvi. 313
   3. 1974

      > The suits were..the zooty type—that's the American style of suiting with a straw hat.

      Listener 8 August 166/1
   4. 2014

      > Female counterparts..wore similarly zooty jackets with a short skirt or even pegged trousers.

      J. Blanco F. et al., Clothing & Fashion 343/2
   U.S. English colloquial and slang
2. 2.
   1943–
   Fashionably or stylishly dressed; smart, stylish, ‘cool’.
   1. 1943

      > Mighty zooty lads in this here outfit.

      Sheppard Field Texacts 17 April 8/1
   2. 1952

      > What the zootie character and the dude have in common is an overfastidious regard for clothing.

      American Speech vol. 27 20
   3. 1964

      > Her lover, too, with long jaws and zooty sideburns.

      S. Bellow, Herzog 240
   4. 2004

      > Bearded, bereted Americans trying to look like Frenchmen and zooty, gum-chewing Frenchmen trying to look like Americans.

      Independent 31 December 27/4
   costume U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. quaint c1330–1691
      Of dress: fine, fashionable, elegant. Obsolete.
   2. nice 1395–1771
      Of dress: extravagant, showy, ostentatious. Also in extended use. Obsolete.
   3. merry c1400–50
      Of an article of clothing, an ornament, etc.: fine, handsome, brightly coloured. Obsolete.
   4. feat c1430–
      Of dress, etc.: Becoming, well fitting, neat, elegant. Hence of the wearer: Neatly attired.
   5. elegant?c1500–
      Of a person: that dresses with tasteful beauty or sophistication; displaying elegance in dress. Sometimes in negative sense: foppish (cf. piss-elegant…
   6. mannerly 1523–
      Of a fabric, an item of clothing, etc.: neat, respectable, clean. Now also (chiefly regional): fashionable, smart.
   7. fine 1526–
      Of dress: elaborate; showy; smart. Hence of a person: smartly or showily dressed (now chiefly in historical contexts).
   8. neat 1566–
      Of clothing: handsome, fine; (now) spec. unadornedly smart; trim, elegant.
   9. trim 1675
      Neatly or smartly made, prepared, or arranged; elegantly or finely arrayed, dressed, or ‘got up’… Of things: chiefly in sense ‘neat, properly made…
   10. smart 1704–
       Of an item of clothing, etc.: attractively neat and stylish; relatively formal.
   11. dressy 1785–
       Of a garment or accessory: stylish, smart; suitable for a formal occasion. Also in extended use.
   12. natty 1794–
       Of a thing, esp. an item of clothing: neatly smart; trim, fashionable; cleverly designed or made.
   13. good 1809–
       spec. Originally Scottish. Of clothes: smart and suitable formal wear. Also of a room, furnishing, or household article: of superior quality and…
   14. dossy 1889–
       Stylish, smart.
   15. dicty 1932–
       High-class, fancy; elegant, stylish.
   16. whip-smart 1937–
       Neat and trim; impeccably tailored, stylish. Now somewhat rare.
   17. zooty 1943–
       Fashionably or stylishly dressed; smart, stylish, ‘cool’.
   18. sharp 1944–
       As a general term of approbation. Originally U.S. slang. Of clothes: stylish, fashionable, smart, ‘snappy’. Hence of the wearer: well-dressed…
   19. preppy 1963–
       Of clothes, appearance, etc.: typical of or associated with students at (prestigious) prep schools; neat, classic, smart.
   20. sharp-sharp 2014–
       Of clothes, appearance, etc.: stylish, fashionable, smart. Also as a general term of approval: excellent, fantastic, great. Cf. sharp, adj. A.7.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzuːti/
ZOO-tee

### U.S. English

/ˈzudi/
ZOO-dee

####

##### 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

1. 1900s–
   zootie, zooty

## Frequency

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

zooty 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 zooty, adj., 1940–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1940 | 0.0006
1950 | 0.0006
1960 | 0.0006
1970 | 0.0006
1980 | 0.0006
1990 | 0.0005
2000 | 0.0006
2010 | 0.0005

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

zooty, adj. was revised in June 2017.

zooty, adj. was last modified in July 2023.