zocle, n.

zocle
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zocle_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zoclenoun

## Earlier version

- zocle in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zocle mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zocle. 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 zocle?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1760 | 0.0025
1770 | 0.0027
1780 | 0.0023
1790 | 0.0029
1800 | 0.0032
1810 | 0.0029
1820 | 0.0036
1830 | 0.0036
1840 | 0.0037
1850 | 0.0038
1860 | 0.003
1870 | 0.0021
1880 | 0.0017
1890 | 0.0012
1900 | 0.0012
1910 | 0.0008
1920 | 0.0006
1930 | 0.0005
1940 | 0.0005
1950 | 0.0005
1960 | 0.0003
1970 | 0.0003
1980 | 0.0002
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0001
2010 | 0.0002

### How is the noun zocle pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzəʊk(ə)l/

### Where does the noun zocle come from?

Earliest known use

early 1700s

The earliest known use of the noun zocle is in the early 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for zocle is from 1704, in the writing of John Harris, writer and lecturer on science.

zocle is a borrowing from Italian.

Etymons: Italian zoccolo.

### Nearby entries

1. zoanthodeme, n. 1877–
2. zoanthoid, adj. 1854–
3. zoanthropic, adj. 1891–
4. zoanthropy, n. 1856–
5. zoanthus, n. 1841–
6. zoarial, adj. 1896–
7. zoarium, n. 1880–
8. zob, n. 1911–
9. zocalo, n. 1884–
10. zocco, n. 1664–1723
11. zocle, n.1704–
12. zoco, n. 1892–
13. zodiac, n. 1390–
14. zodiacal, adj. 1576–
15. zodiac line, n. 1590
16. zodiac ring, n. 1895–
17. zodiographer, n. 1650
18. zoea, n. 1828–
19. zoeal, adj.?1870–
20. zoetrope, n. 1866–
21. zographer, n. 1570

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Italian.
Etymon: Italian zoccolo.
< Italian zoccolo.

## Meaning & use

1. 1704–
   = zocco n.
   1. 1704

      > Zocle, is a Square Member in Architecture, being lower than its Breadth, which serves to support a Pillar... Continued Zocle, is a kind of continued Pedestal, on which a Structure is raised, but hath no Base, or Cornish.

      J. Harris, Lexicon Technicum vol. I
   2. 1723

      > Vignola terminates these Pillars with a plain Zocle.

      E. Chambers, translation of S. Le Clerc, Treatise of Architecture vol. I. 54
   3. 1870

      > Two little naked winged boys standing on a highly elaborate zocle.

      D. Rock, Textile Fabrics (S. Kensington Museum) 334
   architecture
   1. slipper 1611–1703
      Architecture. = plinth, n. Obsolete. rare.
   2. plinth 1634–
      A block or pedestal on which an object (as a statue, vase, etc.) may be mounted or displayed; (also) the squared base of a piece of furniture.
   3. entablement 1664–
      The horizontal platform or graduated series of platforms supporting a statue and placed above the dado and the base.
   4. quadra 1664–
      a. The plinth or socle of a podium. b. A platband or fillet, esp. one above or below the scotia in an Ionic base.
   5. zocco 1664–1723
      = socle, n. 1.
   6. socle 1704–
      A low plain block or plinth serving as a pedestal to a statue, column, vase, etc.; also, a plain plinth forming a foundation for a wall.
   7. zocle 1704–
      = zocco, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzəʊk(ə)l/

####

##### 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.

## Frequency

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

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

### Frequency of zocle, n., 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 | 0.0025
1770 | 0.0027
1780 | 0.0023
1790 | 0.0029
1800 | 0.0032
1810 | 0.0029
1820 | 0.0036
1830 | 0.0036
1840 | 0.0037
1850 | 0.0038
1860 | 0.003
1870 | 0.0021
1880 | 0.0017
1890 | 0.0012
1900 | 0.0012
1910 | 0.0008
1920 | 0.0006
1930 | 0.0005
1940 | 0.0005
1950 | 0.0005
1960 | 0.0003
1970 | 0.0003
1980 | 0.0002
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0001
2010 | 0.0002

zocle, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zocle, n. was last modified in December 2024.