ZANUnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun ZANU mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun ZANU. 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 ZANU?
| 1960 | 0.25 |
| 1970 | 0.25 |
| 1980 | 0.28 |
| 1990 | 0.35 |
| 2000 | 0.36 |
| 2010 | 0.34 |
Where does the noun ZANU come from?
Earliest known use
1960s
The earliest known use of the noun ZANU is in the 1960s.
OED's earliest evidence for ZANU is from 1963, in the Times (London).
Nearby entries
- zampone, n.1860–
- zamzawed, adj.1743–
- Zamzummim, n.1530–
- Zande, n.1873–
- zander, n.1854–
- zanella, n.1876–
- zanily, adv.1936–
- zaniness, n.1933–
- Zante, n.1615–
- Zantedeschia, n.1836–
- ZANU, n.1963–
- zany, n. & adj.1582–
- zany, v.1602–1894
- zanyish, adj.1843–
- zanyism, n.1823–
- zanyship, n.1766–1839
- Zanzibari, n. & adj.1882–
- zap, n.1968–
- zap, v.1942–
- zap, int.1929–
- Zapata, n.1962–
Meaning & use
- 1963–Zimbabwe African National Union.
- 1963
The split in the Southern Rhodesian African nationalist movement has come to a head. A breakaway group..has formed..the Zimbabwe African National Union. The president is the Rev. Ndabaninge Sithole, formerly one of Mr. Nkomo's staunchest lieutenants, as are all the members of the new Zanu executive.
Times 10 August 5/2 - 1964
On 8 August a new organization, the Zimbabwe African National Union (Z.A.N.U.), was formed with the Rev. Sithole as leader.
Annual Register 1963 ii. v. 105 - 1977
Nobody wants to clear an arena for a final fight between Zapu and Zanu armies for supremacy.
Times 17 September 15/3
society authority rule or government politics African politics [nouns] principles, parties, or associations in specific countries or regions- Mahdism1884–The belief in or adherence to the Mahdi or a Mahdi.
- umma1946–With capital initial. (The name of) a nationalist political party founded in Sudan in 1945. Now more fully the National Umma Party.
- Mau Mau1950–More fully Mau Mau Association. An African secret society, originating among the Kikuyu and active in the 1950s, which favoured the use of armed…
- TANU1957–The name of an African nationalist political party (1954–77) in Tanganyika and subsequently Tanzania.
- African socialism1959–A form of socialism specific to or adapted for Africa and its culture; spec. (sometimes with capital initials) the name of a kind of socialism…
- uhuru1959–National independence of an African country; freedom, esp. from colonial rule or foreign influence; self-determination.
- UNIP1959–United National Independence Party (of Zambia).
- KANU1960–The name of a Kenyan political party.
- Nkrumahism1960–The socialist and pan-Africanist principles and policies associated with the Ghanaian political leader Kwame Nkrumah; adherence to or support of…
- U.P.C.1961–Uganda People's Congress.
- ZAPU1961–Zimbabwe African People's Union.
- familyhood1962–= ujamaa, n. 1 Now historical.
- SWANU1962–An African nationalist organization in Namibia. Cf. SWAPO, n.
- SWAPO1962–An African nationalist organization in Namibia. Cf. SWANU, n.
- ujamaa1962–A form of African socialism implemented in Tanzania by Julius Nyerere, the country's first president (1964–85), whose central policies included the…
- Frelimo1963–The nationalist liberation party of Mozambique, founded in 1962, which formed the government of the single-party socialist state after…
- harambee1963–The action or fact of working together; a spirit of civic unity or cooperation among Kenyans. Originally as a slogan and rallying cry used by Jomo…
- ZANU1963–Zimbabwe African National Union.
- ELF1965–Eritrean Liberation Front, a movement formed in 1960 with the aim of achieving independence from Ethiopia; cf. EPLF, n.
- Nibmar1966–The policy of opposing recognition of the white minority government which proclaimed the independence of Rhodesia (subsequently Zimbabwe) from…
- UNITA1967–National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.
- Nkrumahization1968–Reform or adaptation in accordance with Nkrumahist principles.
- EPLF1974–Eritrean People's Liberation Front, formed in 1970 as a splinter group of the ELF (ELF, n.) with the aim of achieving independence from Ethiopia.
- Polisario1975–An independence movement in Western (formerly Spanish) Sahara, formed in May 1973. Frequently attributive.
Forms
Variant forms
Also Zanu.Frequency
ZANU typically occurs about 0.3 times per million words in modern written English.
ZANU is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of ZANU, n., 1960–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.25 |
| 1970 | 0.25 |
| 1980 | 0.28 |
| 1990 | 0.35 |
| 2000 | 0.36 |
| 2010 | 0.34 |