zonelessadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective zoneless mean?
There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective zoneless. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, 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 adjective zoneless?
| 1760 | 0.011 |
| 1770 | 0.014 |
| 1780 | 0.014 |
| 1790 | 0.013 |
| 1800 | 0.014 |
| 1810 | 0.015 |
| 1820 | 0.014 |
| 1830 | 0.013 |
| 1840 | 0.011 |
| 1850 | 0.0089 |
| 1860 | 0.0088 |
| 1870 | 0.0075 |
| 1880 | 0.0061 |
| 1890 | 0.005 |
| 1900 | 0.0039 |
| 1910 | 0.0027 |
| 1920 | 0.0024 |
| 1930 | 0.0018 |
| 1940 | 0.0015 |
| 1950 | 0.0012 |
| 1960 | 0.0011 |
| 1970 | 0.0009 |
| 1980 | 0.0009 |
| 1990 | 0.0008 |
| 2000 | 0.0008 |
| 2010 | 0.0005 |
How is the adjective zoneless pronounced?
British English
Where does the adjective zoneless come from?
Earliest known use
mid 1700s
The earliest known use of the adjective zoneless is in the mid 1700s.
OED's earliest evidence for zoneless is from 1748, in the writing of William Mason, poet and garden designer.
zoneless is formed within English, by derivation.
Etymons: zone n., ‑less suffix.
Nearby entries
- zonate, adj.1866–
- zonated, adj.1803–
- zonation, n.1898–
- zone, n.a1500–
- zone, v.1792–
- zone centre | zone center, n.1934–
- zoned, adj.1662–
- zone defence | zone defense, n.1927–
- zone electrophoresis, n.1952–
- zone fossil, n.1904–
- zoneless, adj.1748–
- zonelet, n.1855–
- zone level, v.1974–
- zone leveller, n.1956–
- zone levelling, n.1953–
- zone-melt, v.1982–
- zone melting, n.1952–
- zone plate, n.1890–
- zoner, n.1962–
- zone-refine, v.1962–
- zone refiner, n.1959–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1.1748–Not confined by, or not wearing, a zone or girdle; ungirt.
- 1748
In careless folds loose flow'd her zoneless vest.
W. Mason, Isis 8 - 1785
Pleasure..That reeling goddess with the zoneless waist.
W. Cowper, Task iii. 52 - 1802
I always thought him a bantling of zoneless Italian muses.
S. T. Coleridge, Letters (1895) 370 - 1822
Come in thy zoneless grace, thy flowing locks Crown'd with the laurel of the Gods.
H. H. Milman, Martyr of Antioch 14
the world textiles and clothing clothing types or styles of clothing [adjectives] fastened in specific way belted, girdled, or pulled in not- ungird1382–1523= ungirt, adj.
- beltless1535–Without a belt (in various senses); esp. (of a person) not wearing a belt; (of a garment) worn without or not having a belt.
- ungirded1565–1869
- ungirdled1611–(un-, prefix¹ affix 2 or un-, prefix² affix 2.)
- zoneless1748–Not confined by, or not wearing, a zone or girdle; ungirt.
- ungirt1850–Not girded or wearing a girdle; having the girdle or belt undone, slackened, or removed.
- unbelted1880–(un-, prefix¹ affix 3) Also absol. as n.
the world textiles and clothing clothing wearing clothing [adjectives] wearing clothing for body (and limbs) wearing a belt or girdle not- ungirt1297–Not girded or wearing a girdle; having the girdle or belt undone, slackened, or removed.
- beltless1535–Without a belt (in various senses); esp. (of a person) not wearing a belt; (of a garment) worn without or not having a belt.
- ungirded1565–1869
- unbelt1662Unbelted.
- unzoned1718–Not girt with a zone, belt, or girdle; uncinctured.
- zoneless1748–Not confined by, or not wearing, a zone or girdle; ungirt.
- uncinctured1790–(un-, prefix¹ affix 2.)
- discinct1846–Lax, undisciplined; dissolute. Later also (with conscious reference to the etymology): not wearing a belt or girdle.
- unbelted1870–(un-, prefix¹ affix 3) Also absol. as n.
- 2.1836–Not marked with zones or bands of colour.
- 1836
Pileus of a fleshy..substance zoneless villous white.
M. J. Berkeley in J. E. Smith, English Flora vol. V. ii. 140
- zoneless1836–Not marked with zones or bands of colour.
Pronunciation
British 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.
Frequency
zoneless typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zoneless 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 of zoneless, adj., 1760–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1760 | 0.011 |
| 1770 | 0.014 |
| 1780 | 0.014 |
| 1790 | 0.013 |
| 1800 | 0.014 |
| 1810 | 0.015 |
| 1820 | 0.014 |
| 1830 | 0.013 |
| 1840 | 0.011 |
| 1850 | 0.0089 |
| 1860 | 0.0088 |
| 1870 | 0.0075 |
| 1880 | 0.0061 |
| 1890 | 0.005 |
| 1900 | 0.0039 |
| 1910 | 0.0027 |
| 1920 | 0.0024 |
| 1930 | 0.0018 |
| 1940 | 0.0015 |
| 1950 | 0.0012 |
| 1960 | 0.0011 |
| 1970 | 0.0009 |
| 1980 | 0.0009 |
| 1990 | 0.0008 |
| 2000 | 0.0008 |
| 2010 | 0.0005 |