zonitenoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zonite mean?
There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zonite. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
zonite has developed meanings and uses in subjects including
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 zonite?
| 1860 | 0.0027 |
| 1870 | 0.0024 |
| 1880 | 0.0023 |
| 1890 | 0.0024 |
| 1900 | 0.0034 |
| 1910 | 0.0077 |
| 1920 | 0.0081 |
| 1930 | 0.0086 |
| 1940 | 0.0091 |
| 1950 | 0.0093 |
| 1960 | 0.009 |
| 1970 | 0.0081 |
| 1980 | 0.0036 |
| 1990 | 0.0031 |
| 2000 | 0.0024 |
| 2010 | 0.002 |
How is the noun zonite pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zonite come from?
Earliest known use
1860s
The earliest known use of the noun zonite is in the 1860s.
OED's earliest evidence for zonite is from 1860, in All the Year Round.
zonite is a borrowing from Latin.
Etymons: Latin zōnītēs.
Nearby entries
- zone plate, n.1890–
- zoner, n.1962–
- zone-refine, v.1962–
- zone refiner, n.1959–
- zone refining, n.1952–
- zone therapy, n.1915–
- zone time, n.1908–
- Zonian, n.1910–
- zonic, adj.1797–
- zoning, n.a1821–
- zonite, n.1860–
- zonitic, adj.1888–
- zonk, v.1950–
- zonk, int.1949–
- zonked, adj.1959–
- zonkey, n.1953–
- zonking, adj.1958–
- zonky, adj.1972–
- zono-, comb. form
- zonochlorite, n.1872–
- zonociliate, adj.1885–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1.1860–A snail of the genus Zonites.
- 1860
Porcelain Zonites that lived two years and a half without aliment.
All Year Round 18 February 390
- 2.1880–Any of the body-rings of a segmented animal, as an arthropod or annelid.
- 1880
Zonites, Somites, or Metameres.
F. P. Pascoe, Zoological Classification (ed. 2) 297 - 1888
Each somite is subdivided externally into at least two lesser divisions or zonites.
Huxley & Martin's Pract. Biology 241
the world animals animal body general parts [nouns] regions comprising segments segment body-ring of segmented animal- zonite1880–Any of the body-rings of a segmented animal, as an arthropod or annelid.
- zonite1880–Any of the body-rings of a segmented animal, as an arthropod or annelid.
Pronunciation
British 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.
Frequency
zonite typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zonite 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 of zonite, 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 | 0.0027 |
| 1870 | 0.0024 |
| 1880 | 0.0023 |
| 1890 | 0.0024 |
| 1900 | 0.0034 |
| 1910 | 0.0077 |
| 1920 | 0.0081 |
| 1930 | 0.0086 |
| 1940 | 0.0091 |
| 1950 | 0.0093 |
| 1960 | 0.009 |
| 1970 | 0.0081 |
| 1980 | 0.0036 |
| 1990 | 0.0031 |
| 2000 | 0.0024 |
| 2010 | 0.002 |
Compounds & derived words
- zonitic, adj. 1888–