zinc-blende, n.

zinc-blende
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zinc-blende_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zinc-blendenoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zinc-blende mean?

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

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the noun zinc-blende?

About 0.05occurrences per million words in modern written English

1830 | 0.0098
1840 | 0.015
1850 | 0.02
1860 | 0.027
1870 | 0.05
1880 | 0.065
1890 | 0.073
1900 | 0.082
1910 | 0.082
1920 | 0.082
1930 | 0.081
1940 | 0.065
1950 | 0.058
1960 | 0.057
1970 | 0.053
1980 | 0.055
1990 | 0.056
2000 | 0.054
2010 | 0.056

### Where does the noun zinc-blende come from?

Earliest known use

1840s

The earliest known use of the noun zinc-blende is in the 1840s.

OED's only evidence for zinc-blende is from 1842, in the writing of Thomas Graham, chemist.

### Nearby entries

1. Zimmer, n. 1951–
2. zina, n. 1817–
3. zinc, n. 1651–
4. zinc, v. 1843–
5. zinc-air, adj. 1970–
6. Zincala, n. 1844–91
7. Zincalo, n. 1841–
8. zinc-alum, n. 1851–
9. zinc-amide, n. 1859–
10. zincate, n. 1872–
11. zinc-blende, n.1842–
12. zinc-bloom, n. 1842–
13. zinc chloride, n. 1851–
14. zinc chromate, n. 1851–
15. zinc chrome, n. 1892–
16. zinc-dust, n. 1877–
17. zinc finger, n. 1987–
18. zinc-foil, n. 1851–
19. zinc green, n. 1847–
20. zinc-grey | zinc-gray, n. 1881–
21. zincian, adj. 1930–

## Meaning & use

1. 1842–
   Native zinc sulphide = blende n.
   1. 1842

      > The principal ores of zinc are calamine..and zinc blende.

      T. Graham, Elements of Chemistry ii. v. 573
   minerals
   1. calaminaris 1577–
      Earlier name of calamine, n.
   2. calamine 1601–
      An ore of zinc: originally applied, like medieval Latin lapis calaminaris, and the cadmia of Pliny, to both the carbonate ZnCO3, and the hydrous…
   3. calmy 1658
      ? Calamine.
   4. calaminary a1661–1860
      = calaminaris, adj. & n.
   5. mock ore 1681–
      A substance resembling a useful ore; spec. sphalerite (zinc blende).
   6. blende 1683–
      Sulfide of zinc occurring as a native crystalline mineral.
   7. lapis calaminaris 1696–
      Calamine.
   8. mock-lead a1728–
      Sphalerite (zinc blende).
   9. black jack 1728–
      Mining. The mineral sphalerite or blende.
   10. cadmia 1753
       ‘The ancient name of calamine’ (Ure Dict. Arts I. 569); also applied to a sublimate consisting of oxide of zinc (tutty), and to an ore of cobalt.
   11. cadmy 1756
       = cadmia, n.
   12. calamy 1756
   13. calmey 1756
       = calamine, n.
   14. mock jack 1758
       = mock-lead, n.
   15. calamine stone 1761
       attributive, as in calamine stone n. = lapis calaminaris, n.
   16. red zinc ore 1781–
       A red ore of zinc; spec. = zincite, n.
   17. zinc spar 1796–
       An old name for native zinc carbonate (= calamine, n., smithsonite, n. 2).
   18. zinc-blende 1842–
       Native zinc sulphide = blende, n.
   19. smithsonite 1849–
       A mineral consisting of zinc carbonate, typically occurring as colourless prisms and crystalline aggregates.
   20. zincite 1854–
       A native oxide of zinc, of a deep-red or orange-yellow colour, found in New Jersey; red oxide of zinc, red zinc ore.
   21. adamite 1866–
       A zinc mineral occurring as yellow, green, or colourless crystals or crystal aggregates.
   22. adamine 1869–
       = adamite, n.²
   23. liver-blende 1912–
       = zinc-blende, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. mock ore 1681–
      A substance resembling a useful ore; spec. sphalerite (zinc blende).
   2. blende 1683–
      Sulfide of zinc occurring as a native crystalline mineral.
   3. mock-lead a1728–
      Sphalerite (zinc blende).
   4. black jack 1728–
      Mining. The mineral sphalerite or blende.
   5. pseudogalena a1775–
      = sphalerite, n.
   6. zinc-blende 1842–
      Native zinc sulphide = blende, n.
   7. christophite 1868–
      A variety of the mineral sphalerite (zinc sulfide), containing a relatively high proportion of iron.
   8. sphalerite 1868–
      Zinc-blende.
   9. wurtzite 1868–
      ‘Zinc sulphide, crystallizing in the hexagonal system’ (Chester).
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zinc-blende typically occurs about 0.05 times per million words in modern written English.

zinc-blende 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 zinc-blende, n., 1830–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1830 | 0.0098
1840 | 0.015
1850 | 0.02
1860 | 0.027
1870 | 0.05
1880 | 0.065
1890 | 0.073
1900 | 0.082
1910 | 0.082
1920 | 0.082
1930 | 0.081
1940 | 0.065
1950 | 0.058
1960 | 0.057
1970 | 0.053
1980 | 0.055
1990 | 0.056
2000 | 0.054
2010 | 0.056

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

zinc, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.