zetta-, comb. form

zetta
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zetta_combform%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2016

# zetta-combining form

## Factsheet

### Where does the combining form zetta- come from?

zetta- is a variant or alteration of another lexical item.

Etymons: septi- comb. form1.

### Nearby entries

1. zeta-ic, adj. 1840–1927
2. zeta potential, n. 1927–
3. zetetic, adj. & n. 1645–
4. zetetical, adj. & n. 1646–
5. zetetically, adv. 1665–
6. Zetetical Society, n. 1881–
7. zetetics, n. 1843–
8. Zetland, n. 1577–
9. Zetlander, n. 1614–
10. Zetlandic, adj. 1701–
11. zetta-, comb. form
12. Zeuglodon, n. 1839–
13. zeuglodont, n. & adj. 1850–
14. zeuglodontoid, adj. & n. 1891
15. zeugma, n. c1450–
16. zeugmatic, adj. 1851–
17. zeugmatical, adj. 1610–
18. zeugmatically, adv. 1616–
19. zeugmatogram, n. 1973–
20. zeugmatographic, adj. 1973–
21. zeugmatography, n. 1973–

## Etymology

### Summary

A variant or alteration of another lexical item.
Etymon: septi- comb. form1.
An arbitrary alteration of septi- comb. form1 (with the connective vowel ‑a‑ perhaps compare hepta- comb. form); so called with reference to the unit being seven orders of magnitude greater than one thousand (103). Compare…
An arbitrary alteration of septi- comb. form1 (with the connective vowel ‑a‑ perhaps compare hepta- comb. form); so called with reference to the unit being seven orders of magnitude greater than one thousand (103). Compare yotta- comb. form, and also zepto- comb. form, yocto- comb. form.

### Notes

The unit prefix was officially accepted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1991. On the further background compare:

1. 1994

   > In 1990 the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry..offered for discussion a suggestion for sepo and oco, from Latin septo, seven and octo, eight. Because the symbol s for sepo would be the same as the symbol for the second, while the symbol o for oco could be misread as a zero, these eventually became zepto (10−21) and yocto (10−24). The multiple prefixes zetta (1021 and yotta (1024) were fabricated, from the same Latin roots, by an equally arbitrary process.

   Quarterly Journal Royal Astron. Society vol. 25 570

## Meaning & use

1. Prefixed to the names of units of measurement to denote a factor of 1021 (one thousand million million million; one thousand to the power of seven), as zettabyte, zettagram, zettametre, etc. Symbol Z.
   1. 1991

      > After further discussion along this line the CCU decided as follows:..10+21 zetta [symbol] Z... 10+24 yotta [symbol] Y.

      Rapport de la 10e Session, Commité Consultatif des Uniés (Bureau Internat. des Poids et Mesures) u44
   2. 1994

      > The largest known galaxy, at the centre of the Abell 2029 cluster in Virgo, has a diameter of around 53 zettametres.

      New Scientist 3 December 81/1
   3. 2001

      > So, it's 1 yottabyte = 280 bytes or 1 zettabyte = 270 bytes.

      Personal Computer World July 56/1
   4. 2015

      > At the large unit end of the mass scale there is the zettagram.

      F. Adams & C. Barbante, Chem. Imaging Analysis ii. 53

## Pronunciation

Stress is usually determined by a subsequent element and vowels may be reduced accordingly. Some degree of stress is usually maintained on the first syllable, e.g. zettagram

### British English

/ˈzɛtəɡram/
ZET-uh-gram

### U.S. English

/ˈzɛdəˌɡræm/
ZED-uh-gram

####

##### 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

zetta-, comb. form was first published in September 2016.

zetta-, comb. form was last modified in December 2024.