Zelig-like, adj.

zelig-like
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zelig-like_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2004

# Zelig-likeadjective

## Factsheet

### What does the adjective Zelig-like mean?

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

### How common is the adjective Zelig-like?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1980 | 0.001
1990 | 0.001
2000 | 0.001
2010 | 0.001

### How is the adjective Zelig-like pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɛlɪɡlʌɪk/
ZEL-ig-lighk

#### U.S. English

/ˈzɛlɪɡˌlaɪk/
ZEL-ig-lighk

### Where does the adjective Zelig-like come from?

Earliest known use

1980s

The earliest known use of the adjective Zelig-like is in the 1980s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zelig-like is from 1983, in the Texas Monthly.

From a proper name, combined with an English element.

Etymons: proper name Zelig, ‑like suffix.

### Nearby entries

1. Zeiss, n. 1876–
2. zeitgeber, n. 1958–
3. zeitgeist, n. 1848–
4. zeitgeisty, adj. 1966–
5. zek, n. 1968–
6. zelant, n. 1624–26
7. zelatrice, n. 1874–
8. zelatrix, n. 1865–
9. Zeldovich, n. 1956–
10. Zelig, n. 1984–
11. Zelig-like, adj.1983–
12. zelkova, n. 1836–
13. zelotypia, n. 1566–
14. zelotyping, adj. a1660
15. zelotypist, n.?1632
16. zelotypy, n. 1623–1794
17. Zemblan, n. & adj. 1674–1805
18. Zemblian, n. & adj. 1674–1796
19. zemi, n. 1555–
20. zemiistic, adj. 1907–
21. zemirah, n. 1767–

## Etymology

### Summary

From a proper name, combined with an English element.
Etymons: proper name Zelig, ‑like suffix.
< the name of Leonard Zelig, the eponymous character in the 1983 film by Woody Allen (see Zelig n.) + ‑like suffix.

## Meaning & use

1. 1983–
   Designating a person who is able to change his or her appearance, behaviour, attitudes, etc., so as to be appropriate in any circumstance, or who is unexpectedly associated with important or famous people; characteristic of such a person. Cf. Zelig n.
   1. 1983

      > His comic fiction is laced with Zelig-like figures who bumble their way briefly into chance encounters with the illustrious.

      Texas Monthly September 172/3
   2. 1988

      > In retouched photographs in the background he appears Zelig-like in company with Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.

      New York Times 18 June i. 13/1
   3. 1994

      > Whitewater began..as a metaphor for the Zelig-like nature of Clinton's persona... Who is this guy, really?

      Esquire May 44/2
   4. 2003

      > Tonken's Zelig-like ability to befriend the stars and twist their arms into attending his events.

      Vanity Fair (New York) August 162/2

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɛlɪɡlʌɪk/
ZEL-ig-lighk

### U.S. English

/ˈzɛlɪɡˌlaɪk/
ZEL-ig-lighk

####

##### 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

## Frequency

Zelig-like typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

Zelig-like 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 Zelig-like, adj., 1980–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1980 | 0.001
1990 | 0.001
2000 | 0.001
2010 | 0.001

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

Zelig-like, adj. was first published in December 2004.

Zelig-like, adj. was last modified in June 2024.