zoetropenoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zoetrope mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zoetrope. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun zoetrope?
| 1860 | 0.0096 |
| 1870 | 0.012 |
| 1880 | 0.013 |
| 1890 | 0.012 |
| 1900 | 0.013 |
| 1910 | 0.013 |
| 1920 | 0.012 |
| 1930 | 0.011 |
| 1940 | 0.009 |
| 1950 | 0.0078 |
| 1960 | 0.0086 |
| 1970 | 0.0097 |
| 1980 | 0.011 |
| 1990 | 0.012 |
| 2000 | 0.013 |
| 2010 | 0.014 |
How is the noun zoetrope pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun zoetrope come from?
Earliest known use
1860s
The earliest known use of the noun zoetrope is in the 1860s.
OED's earliest evidence for zoetrope is from 1866, in Indianapolis Daily Journal.
zoetrope is a borrowing from Greek, combined with an English element.
Etymons: Greek ζωή, ‑trope comb. form.
Nearby entries
- zocco, n.1664–1723
- zocle, n.1704–
- zoco, n.1892–
- zodiac, n.1390–
- zodiacal, adj.1576–
- zodiac line, n.1590
- zodiac ring, n.1895–
- zodiographer, n.1650
- zoea, n.1828–
- zoeal, adj.?1870–
- zoetrope, n.1866–
- zographer, n.1570
- zography, n.1570
- zograscope, n.1753–
- Zohar, n.1682–
- zoic, adj.1863–
- -zoic, comb. form¹
- -zoic, comb. form²
- zoid, n.1856–
- zoid, adj.1864–
- zoidiophilous, adj.1872–
Etymology
Summary
Notes
- 1867
Be it known that I, William E. Lincoln, of Providence, State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful toy called the Zoëtrope.
W. E. Lincoln, U.S. Patent 64,117 1
Meaning & use
- 1866–An optical device or toy consisting of a cylinder with a series of pictures on the inner surface that, when viewed through slits with the cylinder rotating, give an impression of continuous motion.
- 1866
See the Zoetrope, a wonderful Optical Illusion, at Baldwin's Bazaar.
Indianapolis Daily Journal 3 December 8/4 - 1869
And, also, with amusement rife, A ‘Zoetrope, or Wheel of Life’.
W. S. Gilbert, Bab Ballads 14 - 1872
The curious toy called the thaumatrope or ‘Zootrope’ or ‘wheel of life’.
T. H. Huxley, Lessons in Elementary Physiology (ed. 6) x. 245 - 1916
The zootrope or bioscope became familiar everywhere.
H. Münsterberg, Photoplay i. 8 - 1961
The thaumatrope, the phenakistiscope, the zoetrope, and the tachyscope..are the steps by which the modern cinema climbed to its present perfection.
Glasgow Herald 13 July 6/4 - 1975
What you get are outlines and black-and-white images on heavy paper, ready to cut out and make up into a zoetrope or a praxinoscope.
Scientific American December 134/2 - 2003
The thought gnawed at my heart: everything I had done, a collection of postcards, like a zoetrope made to resemble motion while turning in circles.
W. Ferguson, Hokkaido Highway Blues (abridged edition) 203
- multiplying-glass1639–1865A toy consisting of a concave glass or lens, the surface of which is cut into facets so as to give numerous reflections of an observed object. Also…
- Cartesian devil1731–A philosophical toy, consisting of a hollow figure, partly filled with water and partly with air, and made to float in a vessel nearly filled with…
- kaleidoscope1817–An optical instrument, consisting of from two to four reflecting surfaces placed in a tube, at one end of which is a small compartment containing…
- myriorama1823–A picture consisting of a number of separate sections which are capable of being combined in numerous ways to form different scenes.
- thaumatrope1827–A scientific toy illustrating the persistence of visual impressions, consisting of a card or disk with two different figures drawn upon the two…
- bottle imp1833–A toy consisting of a hollow figure which sinks and rises in a container of water; = Cartesian diver Cartesian devil n. at Cartesian, adj. & n.…
- phantasmascope1833–= phenakistoscope, n.
- phenakistoscope1834–A toy consisting of a disc or drum with figures representing a moving object in successive positions arranged radially on it, to be viewed in such a…
- stroboscope1836–A scientific toy which produces the illusion of motion by a series of pictures viewed through the openings of a revolving disc.
- anorthoscope1842–An optical toy for viewing distorted figures drawn on a rotating disk.
- tantalus-cup1842–See quot. 1842; also figurative.
- phantascope1851–= phenakistoscope, n.
- phantoscope1861–= phenakistoscope, n.
- Pharaoh's serpent1863–A chemical toy composed of mercury thiocyanate, which, when ignited, burns slowly, leaving a brown ash residue which forms a snakelike trail.
- phosphoroscope1866–81A scientific toy consisting of an arrangement of glass tubes containing various phosphorescent substances, each of which glows with a different…
- zoetrope1866–An optical device or toy consisting of a cylinder with a series of pictures on the inner surface that, when viewed through slits with the…
- metamorphoscope1867–77An optical toy which displays pictures composed of a permutation of different sections (see quots.).
- wheel of life1872–= zoetrope, n.
- myrioscope1875–A kind of kaleidoscope in which patterns are produced by continuous movement of a flat object of fixed design, such as a piece of embroidery, in…
- praxinoscope1878–A toy resembling a zoetrope, in which a series of figures representing successive positions of a moving object are arranged on the inner surface…
- zoopraxiscope1881–A modified form of zoetrope used to project a series of photographic images of animals or other subjects in order to display their movement; cf. z…
- phantoscope1894A kaleidoscope into one end of which an object can be placed to be viewed. Obsolete.
- Newton's cradle1971–Physics. attributive and in the genitive. Designating or relating to physical phenomena, concepts… A toy consisting of a number of small metal balls…
- slider?1793–A lantern-slide. ? Obsolete.
- magic lantern slide1802–
- slide1819–A picture prepared for use in a magic lantern or stereoscope (now chiefly Historical); a photographic transparency for use in a slide projector.
- hyalotype1851(See quot.).
- chromatrope1860–A magic-lantern slide consisting of two superposed circular glasses, brilliantly coloured, one of which is made to rotate in front of the other.
- zoetrope1866–An optical device or toy consisting of a cylinder with a series of pictures on the inner surface that, when viewed through slits with the…
- lantern slide1871–
- photo-hyalotype1875= hyalotype, n.
- wheel of colour1877–wheel of colour: = chromatrope, n.
- lantern-photograph1884–
- diapositive1893–A transparent positive photographic picture, such as those used as lantern slides.
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. 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.
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
α.
- 1800szoëtrope
- 1800s–zoetrope
β.
- 1800s–zootrope
Frequency
zoetrope typically occurs about 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zoetrope 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 of zoetrope, n., 1860–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 0.0096 |
| 1870 | 0.012 |
| 1880 | 0.013 |
| 1890 | 0.012 |
| 1900 | 0.013 |
| 1910 | 0.013 |
| 1920 | 0.012 |
| 1930 | 0.011 |
| 1940 | 0.009 |
| 1950 | 0.0078 |
| 1960 | 0.0086 |
| 1970 | 0.0097 |
| 1980 | 0.011 |
| 1990 | 0.012 |
| 2000 | 0.013 |
| 2010 | 0.014 |
Frequency of zoetrope, n., 2017–2024
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.
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 corpus.
| Period | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.0067 |
| 2018 | 0.0065 |
| 2019 | 0.008 |
| 2020 | 0.0097 |
| 2021 | 0.0095 |
| 2022 | 0.011 |
| 2023 | 0.012 |
| 2024 | 0.012 |