zephyr-like, adv. & adj.

zephyr-like
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zephyr-like_adv%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2017

# zephyr-likeadverb & adjective

## Factsheet

### What does the word zephyr-like mean?

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

### How common is the word zephyr-like?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1790 | 0.001
1800 | 0.0011
1810 | 0.002
1820 | 0.0025
1830 | 0.0028
1840 | 0.0035
1850 | 0.004
1860 | 0.0044
1870 | 0.0048
1880 | 0.0045
1890 | 0.0041
1900 | 0.0039
1910 | 0.0035
1920 | 0.003
1930 | 0.0027
1940 | 0.0022
1950 | 0.0016
1960 | 0.0013
1970 | 0.001
1980 | 0.0008
1990 | 0.0008
2000 | 0.0008
2010 | 0.0008

### Where does the word zephyr-like come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1700s

The earliest known use of the word zephyr-like is in the mid 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for zephyr-like is from 1765, in the writing of W. Stevenson.

### Nearby entries

1. zephyranth, n. 1845–
2. zephyranthes, n. 1821–
3. zephyrean, adj. 1793–
4. zephyret, n. 1777–1881
5. zephyr flower, n.?1829–
6. zephyr-gale, n. 1596–1901
7. zephyrian, adj. 1661–
8. zephyrine, adj. & n. 1819–
9. zephyring, adj. 1821–
10. zephyrless, adj. a1821–
11. zephyr-like, adv. & adj.1765–
12. zephyr lily, n.?1877–
13. zephyrous, adj. a1750–
14. zephyry, adj. 1791–
15. Zepp, n. 1914–
16. Zepp, v. 1914–
17. Zeppelin, n. 1896–
18. zeppelin, v. 1910–
19. Zeppelined, adj. 1915–
20. Zeppelining, n. 1915–
21. Zeppelinist, n. 1912–

## Meaning & use

1. 1765–
   a. adv. In the manner of a zephyr or light breeze; b. adj. of the nature of, or suggestive of, a zephyr or light breeze.
   Stressed as ˈzephyr-like.
   1. 1765

      > Not Zephyr-like, through osiers wreath'd, My strains had innocently breath'd, But..with the voice of thunder spoke.

      W. Stevenson, Original Poems vol. II. 92
   2. 1789

      > A mild, gentle, zephyr-like breeze.

      B. Taylor, Lect. Atmosphere London 4
   3. 1832

      > [She] seems not to belong to earth, but rather, as she glides zephyr-like across it.., to hold communion with kindred spirits in the skies.

      Reviewer 12 August 106/1
   4. 1924

      > The zephyr like sentences, each following on the heel of another in a rapid flow..did not hold the audience in fascination at first.

      Times of India 27 August 11/5
   5. 1992

      > It [sc. the air conditioning] wafts, zephyrlike, over the body, dries the moist brow.

      New York Times (Nexis) 3 September c19
   6. 2010

      > The whispering zephyr-like swish from the long black robes of the nuns.

      J. J. Patterson, Bermuda Shorts 77
   weather
   1. windily 1611–
      With strong or frequent winds; in a manner reminiscent of the wind.
   2. zephyr-like 1765–
      a. adv. In the manner of a zephyr or light breeze; b. adj. of the nature of, or suggestive of, a zephyr or light breeze.
   3. breezily 1865–
      In a breezy manner. Also figurative (see breezy, adj. 2b).
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

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

zephyr-like 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 zephyr-like, adv. & adj., 1790–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1790 | 0.001
1800 | 0.0011
1810 | 0.002
1820 | 0.0025
1830 | 0.0028
1840 | 0.0035
1850 | 0.004
1860 | 0.0044
1870 | 0.0048
1880 | 0.0045
1890 | 0.0041
1900 | 0.0039
1910 | 0.0035
1920 | 0.003
1930 | 0.0027
1940 | 0.0022
1950 | 0.0016
1960 | 0.0013
1970 | 0.001
1980 | 0.0008
1990 | 0.0008
2000 | 0.0008
2010 | 0.0008

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

zephyr-like, adv. & adj. was first published in 2017.