zaminoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zami mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zami. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
This word is used in Caribbean English.
How common is the noun zami?
| 1970 | 0.0029 |
| 1980 | 0.0029 |
| 1990 | 0.0029 |
| 2000 | 0.0029 |
| 2010 | 0.003 |
How is the noun zami pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Caribbean English
Where does the noun zami come from?
Earliest known use
1970s
The earliest known use of the noun zami is in the 1970s.
OED's earliest evidence for zami is from 1977, in the writing of D. R. Hill.
zami is a borrowing from French Creole.
Etymons: French Creole zami.
Nearby entries
- zama zama, n.2006–
- Zamazim, n.a1400–
- Zambian, adj. & n.1959–
- Zambianization, n.1964–
- Zambianize, v.1964–
- zambo, n.1819–
- Zamboni, n.1965–
- zambra, n.1672–
- zambuk, n.1906–
- zamburak, n.1825–
- zami, n.1977–
- Zamia, n.1819–
- zamindar, n.1683–
- zamindari, n. & adj.1742–
- zamindarship, n.1698–1902
- zamioid, adj.1860–
- zamorin, n.1582–
- zampino, n.1881–
- zampogna, n.1740–
- zampone, n.1860–
- zamzawed, adj.1743–
Etymology
Summary
Notes
Meaning & use
- 1977–A lesbian; a homosexual woman.
- 1977
One recourse for a woman whose husband is away for a long period is to become a ‘zami’... Zamis are lesbians.
D. R. Hill, Impact Migration on Metrop. & Folk Soc. Carriacou, Grenada vi. 280/1 - 2013
Inside our diverse, complicated, ever-evolving communities..we are (and have been) butches, femmes, gay women, dykes, bi women, pansexuals, lipstick lesbians, bois, studs, zamis.
Diva February 25/1 - 2021
If any boy becomes interested in me, I represent myself as a zami.
@Majestic_eagle7 27 October in twitter.com (accessed 1 Dec. 2020)
the world physical sensation sexual relations sexual orientation homosexuality [nouns] a homosexual person female- tribade1585–A woman who engages in sexual activity with other women; a lesbian. Cf. tribadism, n.
- fricatrice1607–A woman who engages in sexual activity involving genital contact with other women; (hence generally) a lesbian. Cf. tribade, n., rubster, n. 2…
- rubster1657–A woman who engages in sexual activity involving genital contact with other women; (hence generally) a lesbian. Cf. tribade, n., fricatrice, n. rare…
- lesbian1732–A woman who engages in sexual activity with other women; a woman who is sexually or romantically attracted (esp. wholly or largely) to other…
- Tommy1773–A woman who is romantically attracted to or sexually active with other women; a lesbian. historical and rare after 18th cent.
- Sapphist1789–A woman who engages in sexual activity with other women, or who is sexually or romantically attracted to other women; = lesbian, n. A.2. Cf. Sapphic…
- cunt-sucker1868–a. A person who performs cunnilingus; b. (derogatory) a despicable person; c. (offensive and chiefly derogatory) a lesbian.
- cunt lapper1916–a. A person who performs cunnilingus; b. (offensive and chiefly derogatory) a lesbian; c. derogatory a despicable or highly annoying person.
- lez1929–colloquial (now generally regarded as offensive). A lesbian; a homosexual woman.
- muff-diver1930–coarse slang. a. A person who performs cunnilingus; b. a lesbian.
- dyke1931–colloquial (originally U.S.). Chiefly derogatory and offensive. A lesbian. Also (now less commonly): any woman whose appearance is regarded as masculine (often used with the implication that she is a lesbian).
- lesbo1931–colloquial (sometimes derogatory and offensive). A lesbian.
- lezzie?1939–colloquial (sometimes derogatory and offensive). A lesbian; a homosexual woman.
- lezzo1941–Originally and chiefly Australian colloquial (frequently derogatory and offensive). A lesbian; a homosexual woman; = lezzer, n.
- Lizzie1949–A lesbian. Also: a young man or boy characterized as unmanly or exhibiting qualities, behaviours, interests, etc., that are regarded as more…
- lesbie1966–colloquial (sometimes derogatory and offensive). A lesbian.
- lezzer1966–Chiefly British and Australian colloquial (frequently derogatory and offensive). A lesbian; a homosexual woman.
- zami1977–A lesbian; a homosexual woman.
- rug muncher1981–slang (usually derogatory and offensive). A lesbian. Also (occasionally): a man who performs cunnilingus. Cf. rug, n.³ II.7a.
- Sapphic1985–A lesbian.
- carpet muncher1992–slang (usually derogatory and offensive). A lesbian. Cf. carpet, n. additions, rug muncher, n.
- sodomitess2005–rare (chiefly derogatory and offensive). A woman who engages in a form of sexual intercourse characterized as unnatural or immoral, or otherwise culturally stigmatized; (in later use) a…
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. English
Caribbean English
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
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
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.
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea, thaw
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye, thee
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- hhay
- llay
- 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 as in British and US English.
Vowels
- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, ago
- aːpalm, bath, thought
- aː(r)start
- ɑlot, cloth
- ʌstrut, letter
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- oːgoat
- ɔːthought
- oː(r)north, force, cure
- ɜː(r)nurse
- eː(r)square, near
- aʊmouth
- ɔʊmouth
- eːface
- aipride, voice
- ɔivoice
- ãsoucouyant
- ɑ̃salon
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
- 1900s–zami, zammie
- 2000s–zamie, zammi
Frequency
zami typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zami 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 of zami, n., 1970–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0029 |
| 1980 | 0.0029 |
| 1990 | 0.0029 |
| 2000 | 0.0029 |
| 2010 | 0.003 |