Zephiran, n.

zephiran
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zephiran_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# Zephirannoun

## Earlier version

- Zephiran in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zephiran mean?

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

### How common is the noun Zephiran?

About 0.03occurrences per million words in modern written English

1930 | 0.063
1940 | 0.063
1950 | 0.057
1960 | 0.05
1970 | 0.051
1980 | 0.045
1990 | 0.035
2000 | 0.022
2010 | 0.012

### How is the noun Zephiran pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɛfᵻrən/
ZEFF-uh-ruhn

#### U.S. English

/ˈzɛfəˌræn/
ZEFF-uh-ran

### Where does the noun Zephiran come from?

Earliest known use

1930s

The earliest known use of the noun Zephiran is in the 1930s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zephiran is from 1935, in Trade Marks Journal.

Zephiran is apparently a borrowing from German.

Etymons: German Zephirol.

### Nearby entries

1. zenzizenzicubic, adj. a1690
2. zenzizenzizenzic, n. 1557–1690
3. zeolite, n. 1770–
4. zeolitic, adj. 1782–
5. zeolitical, adj. 1788–
6. zeolitically, adv. 1926–
7. zeolitiform, adj. 1788–
8. zeolitization, n. 1879–
9. zeolitize, v. 1881–
10. zeolitized, adj. 1888–
11. Zephiran, n.1935–
12. Zéphirine Drouhin, n. 1901–
13. zephyr, n. Old English–
14. zephyr, v. 1829–
15. zephyranth, n. 1845–
16. zephyranthes, n. 1821–
17. zephyrean, adj. 1793–
18. zephyret, n. 1777–1881
19. zephyr flower, n.?1829–
20. zephyr-gale, n. 1596–1901
21. zephyrian, adj. 1661–

## Etymology

### Summary

Of uncertain origin. Apparently a borrowing from German.
Etymon: German Zephirol.
Apparently < German Zephirol (G. Domagk 1935, in Deutsche med. Wochenschr. 24 May 830/1; perhaps < Zephir, variant of Zephyr zephyr n. + ‑ol ‑ol suffix, although the precise semantic motivation is unclear), with…
Apparently < German Zephirol (G. Domagk 1935, in Deutsche med. Wochenschr. 24 May 830/1; perhaps < Zephir, variant of Zephyr zephyr n. + ‑ol ‑ol suffix, although the precise semantic motivation is unclear), with suffix substitution (see ‑an suffix).

## Meaning & use

Pharmacology.

1. 1935–
   A preparation of benzalkonium chloride used as an antiseptic.
   1. 1935

      > Zephiran... Chemical substances prepared for use in medicine and pharmacy. Bayer Products Limited,..London, E.C.2; merchants and manufacturers.

      Trade Marks Journal 17 July 887/1
   2. 1951

      > Benzalkonium chloride (Zephiran) is of comparatively low toxicity.

      A. Grollman, Pharmacology & Therapeutics xxv. 503
   3. 1974

      > Iodine tincture.., Zephiran, and hexachlorophene are representative examples of local anti-infective agents.

      M. C. Gerald, Pharmacology xxvi. 448
   4. 2010

      > High-molecular-weight quaternary ammonium compounds such as..Zephiran are still widely used.

      Burns vol. 36 302/1
   pharmacology
   1. naphthalene 1821–
      A crystalline aromatic compound, C10H8, with a molecule consisting of two fused six-membered rings and a pungent, tar-like smell, which is obtained…
   2. carbolic acid 1835–
      = phenol, n. 1; esp. phenol used as a disinfectant. In later use frequently historical.
   3. creosote 1835–
      A colourless oily liquid, of complex composition, with odour like that of smoked meat, and burning taste, obtained from the distillation of…
   4. Sanitas 1878–
      (See quot. 1897.)
   5. chlorocresol 1886–
      Any of various chlorine derivatives of cresols; esp. the derivative C7H7ClO, a white crystalline compound used as an antiseptic and preservative.
   6. salol 1887–
      A white, crystalline, aromatic powder, prepared from salicylic and carbolic acids, used as an antipyretic and antiseptic. Also in combinations.
   7. aminol 1889–96
      A gas formed by the action of calcium hydroxide on certain amines (esp. those obtained from brine in which herring has been cured); (also) an…
   8. Listerine 1889–
      An antiseptic solution (see quot. 1889).
   9. salufer 1894–
      Silicofluoride of sodium, used as an antiseptic.
   10. Airol 1895–
       A greyish-green powder consisting of a basic iodide and gallate of bismuth, used chiefly as a topical antiseptic, either in solid form or as an…
   11. fluorol 1895–
       Medicine. Sodium fluoride used as an antiseptic. Now disused.
   12. thymoform 1899–
       A yellowish antiseptic powder prepared from formaldehyde and thymol.
   13. xeroform 1901–
       See quot.
   14. triformol 1907–
       A commercial name of paraformaldehyde (see para-, prefix¹ affix 3), used as an antiseptic.
   15. thymoloform 1911–
       = thymoform, n.
   16. hexamine 1914–
       = hexamethylenetetramine, n.
   17. Eusol 1915–
       A solution of chlorinated lime and boric acid that is used as a general antiseptic.
   18. flavine 1917–
       Pharmacology. Any of an ill-defined series of yellow acridine derivatives used as antiseptics, esp. the chloride or other salt of…
   19. proflavine 1917–
       An acridine dye used as an antiseptic for the skin and in experimental studies of mutagenesis.
   20. Dakin 1920–
       Used in the possessive to designate a solution of sodium hypochlorite used as an antiseptic, or a dressing saturated in this fluid.
   21. naphtha 1920–
       Naphthalene, esp. as used in mothballs.
   22. methenamine 1926–
       Chiefly Pharmacology. The compound hexamethylenetetramine, (CH2)6N4, or a derivative of this (often with mandelic acid), esp. when used as a urinary…
   23. T.C.P. 1934–
       The proprietary name of a disinfectant.
   24. Zephiran 1935–
       A preparation of benzalkonium chloride used as an antiseptic.
   25. leptazol 1946–
       A white, crystalline, bicyclic compound, C6H10N4, which stimulates the respiratory and motor centres, is used as an analeptic, especially after…
   26. cetrimide 1948–
       A preparation of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, used as an antiseptic and sterilizing detergent.
   27. nalidixic acid 1962–
       A bicyclic pyridine derivative used as an antiseptic which inhibits bacterial reproduction, given orally in the treatment of infections of the…
   28. clioquinol 1967–
       A halogenated derivative of quinoline that has been used as an antiseptic to treat mild ear infections, intestinal amoebiasis, diarrhoea, and skin…
   29. crystal violet 1996–
       A synthetic violet dye used as a stain in microscopy and as an antiseptic in the treatment of skin infections.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɛfᵻrən/
ZEFF-uh-ruhn

### U.S. English

/ˈzɛfəˌræn/
ZEFF-uh-ran

####

##### 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–
   Zephiran, Zephyran

## Frequency

Zephiran typically occurs about 0.03 times per million words in modern written English.

Zephiran 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 Zephiran, n., 1930–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1930 | 0.063
1940 | 0.063
1950 | 0.057
1960 | 0.05
1970 | 0.051
1980 | 0.045
1990 | 0.035
2000 | 0.022
2010 | 0.012

Zephiran, n. was revised in June 2018.

Zephiran, n. was last modified in July 2023.