zippo, n.²

zippo
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zippo_n2%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2021

# zipponoun2 (& adjective)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zippo mean?

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

This word is used in North American English.

### How common is the noun zippo?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1970 | 0.0061
1980 | 0.0068
1990 | 0.0068
2000 | 0.0068
2010 | 0.008

### How is the noun zippo pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɪpəʊ/
ZIP-oh

#### U.S. English

/ˈzɪpoʊ/
ZIP-oh

### Where does the noun zippo come from?

Earliest known use

1970s

The earliest known use of the noun zippo is in the 1970s.

OED's earliest evidence for zippo is from 1973, in Province (Vancouver).

zippo is formed within English, by derivation.

Etymons: zip n.2, ‑o suffix.

### Nearby entries

1. zippered, adj. 1926–
2. zipper foot, n. 1938–
3. zipperhead, n. 1967–
4. zipper problem, n. 1985–
5. Zippie, n.¹ 1968–
6. zippie, n.² 1986–
7. zippily, adv. 1924–
8. zippiness, n. 1907–
9. zipping, n. 1868–
10. Zippo, n.¹ 1944–
11. zippo, n.²1973–
12. zippy, adj. 1889–
13. zip tie, n. 1969–
14. zip-tie, v. 1985–
15. zip top, n. 1926–
16. zip-up, adj. & n. 1927–
17. zip wire, n. 1971–
18. zir, pron. 1993–
19. zir, adj. 1993–
20. ziraleet, n. 1794–
21. ziram, n. 1950–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by derivation.
< zip n.2 + ‑o suffix.

## Meaning & use

colloquial (originally and chiefly North American).

1. 1973–
   Nothing at all; nought, zero. Also as adj.: no, not any, zero. Cf. zip n.2, zilch n.
   1. 1973

      > Last fall, Cablevision’s Channel 10 carried coverage of the Miss Nude contest here... Reaction from the viewers: zippo. No one upset, no one ranting or raving. The crime rate didn’t increase.

      Province (Vancouver) 27 March 33/1
   2. 1989

      > How much did I make from all this? Zippo.

      P. Lynch & J. Rothchild, One up on Wall Street 91
   3. 1999

      > Everyone knew who they were. True—but they still got zippo respect.

      L. Alison, Backstreet Boys: Now & Forever 5
   4. 2017

      > Turnbull was civil and professional, and look what it got him. Zero, zippo, zilch.

      Yukon News (Nexis) 3 February a6
   North American English colloquial and slang
   1. nany Old English–1450
      Not any, no.
   2. none Old English–
      Not any; = no, adj. 1. Now archaic and Scottish (rare).
   3. none-kins Old English–1500
      No kind of, not any, no.
   4. no (none) such Old English–
      no (†none) such adj., rarely †no such a; absolute or as pronoun now only none such (cf. none such, no… No (person or thing) of the kind; none of the…
   5. no late Old English–
      With a singular or plural noun. Not any. Accompanied by other negatives, with overall negative force (sometimes with more emphasis than a single…
   6. no kin a1400–1598
      No kind of, not any, no.
   7. zero 1823–
      In sense A.3a.
   8. nix 1846–
      = no, adj. Esp. in phrases representing Anglicization of German phrases, as nix fish-tins, etc.
   9. nought 1945–
      Zero; no, not any.
   10. bugger-all 1948–
       Not any; absolutely no; very little.
   11. damn all 1953–
       Absolutely no; not any. Also in weakened sense: very little.
   12. fuck-all 1961–
       coarse slang. Absolutely no; not any. Also as an intensifier (cf. fucking, adj. A.2).
   13. eff-all 1965–
       = fuck-all, adj.
   14. zilch 1969–
       In attributive use. Absolutely no; not any.
   15. zip 1969–
       Absolutely no; not any. Cf. zilch, adj. B.2.
   16. zippo 1973–
       Nothing at all; nought, zero. Also as adj.: no, not any, zero. Cf. zip, n.², zilch, n.
   17. sod all 1978–
       Not any; absolutely no; very little.
   18. negative 1984–
       colloquial (originally U.S. Services' slang). Designating an absolute lack of something; = no, adj. 1b.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. nought Old English–
      That which does not exist, nothingness. Cf. naught, pron. A.1. Now archaic and rare.
   2. devil hae't c1590–
      Not a whit; very little; nothing at all. Cf. devil a haet at haet, n. 1a.
   3. neither tip nor toe 1610
      neither tip nor toe: not a particle or trace, none at all.
   4. nix 1781–
      Nothing; nobody.
   5. damn the haet 1787–
      damn the haet (formerly also †damned haet): nothing at all. Cf. damn all, n.
   6. no nothing 1815–
      colloquial. no nothing: absolutely nothing, nothing at all.
   7. zero 1823–
      Nil, no amount; none at all.
   8. all 1842–
      In various formations modelled on damn all (see damn all, n.), in which damn is replaced with other swear words, oaths, and expletives, or…
   9. neither hide nor hair 1857–
      In collocation with hair, esp. in (in) hide and hair: wholly, entirely; neither hide nor hair: nothing whatever. (So Dutch huid en haar.)
   10. zip 1900–
       Nothing at all, zero; (in negative constructions) anything at all; the least thing. Cf. zilch, n.
   11. nixie 1906–
       = nix, n.¹ B.a. rare.
   12. niente 1908–
       Nothing (more), not anything. Also as int.
   13. damn all 1910–
       Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
   14. fuck-all 1916–
       coarse slang. Nothing at all; (in negative constructions) anything at all; the least thing. Also sweet fuck all (cf. Fanny Adams, n. 2, S.F.A., n.).
   15. Fanny Adams 1919–
       slang. Nothing at all. Chiefly in sweet Fanny Adams in the same sense.
   16. bugger-all 1921–
       Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
   17. S.F.A. 1933–
       Sweet Fanny Adams (cf. F.A., n., Fanny Adams, n. 2).
   18. not a sausage 1938–
       transferred and figurative. Colloquial phrase not a sausage (and variants), nothing at all.
   19. shit 1949–
       Now chiefly coarse slang. In negative contexts: anything at all, the least thing. In positive contexts: nothing at all.
   20. zilch 1956–
       Nothing at all, zero; (in negative constructions) anything at all; the least thing. Cf. zip, n.²
   21. eff-all 1958–
       = fuck-all, n.
   22. sod all 1958–
       Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
   23. diddly-squat 1963–
       As a count noun: a thing of little value or significance; esp. in not to give a diddly-squat. As a mass noun: nothing at all; (in negative…
   24. diddly 1964–
       = diddly-squat, n.
   25. jack-all 1965–
       Nothing at all; (in negative constructions) anything at all; the least thing. Cf. jackshit, n., jack squat, n.
   26. zippo 1973–
       Nothing at all; nought, zero. Also as adj.: no, not any, zero. Cf. zip, n.², zilch, n.
   27. feck-all 1975–
       = fuck-all, n.
   28. hee-haw 1975–
       Scottish colloquial. Nothing at all, absolutely nothing.
   29. naff all 1977–
       Nothing at all. Frequently euphemistic for fuck-all, n.
   30. jack squat 1986–
       Nothing at all; (in negative constructions) anything at all. Cf. jack-all, n., jackshit, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɪpəʊ/
ZIP-oh

### U.S. English

/ˈzɪpoʊ/
ZIP-oh

####

##### 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

## Frequency

zippo typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zippo 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 data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zippo, n.², 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 | 0.0061
1980 | 0.0068
1990 | 0.0068
2000 | 0.0068
2010 | 0.008

zippo, n.² was first published in March 2021.

zippo, n.² was last modified in July 2023.