-zilla, comb. form

zilla
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zilla_combform%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2009

# -zillacombining form

## Factsheet

### What does the combining form -zilla mean?

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

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

-zilla is formed within English, by clipping or shortening.

Etymons: Godzilla n.

### Nearby entries

1. zigzaggy, adj. a1845–
2. zigzag machine, n. 1952–
3. zigzag trefoil, n. 1796–
4. zig-zig, n. 1918–
5. Zika, n. 1952–
6. Zilavka, n. 1926–
7. zilch, n. & adj. 1925–
8. zilch, v. 1957–
9. zill, n. 1754–
10. zilla, n. 1772–
11. -zilla, comb. form
12. zilladar, n. 1763–
13. Zil lane, n. 1985–
14. zilla parishad, n. 1957–
15. zillion, n. & adj. 1920–
16. zillionaire, n. 1926–
17. zillionth, n. & adj. 1940–
18. zimb, n. 1790–
19. Zimba, n. 1625–
20. Zimbabwe, n. 1891–
21. Zimbabwean, adj. & n. 1961–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by clipping or shortening.
< ‑zilla (in Godzilla n.…
< ‑zilla (in Godzilla n.).

### Notes

Formations are found from the 1970s, in early use generally with direct allusion to Godzilla and related films.

## Meaning & use

colloquial (originally U.S.).

1. With preceding noun, forming humorous, usually temporary words which depict a person or thing as a particularly fearsome, relentless, or overbearing example of its kind.
   See also bridezilla n., groomzilla n.
   1. 1976

      > A pet monster named ‘Goat-zilla’ that eats trash and never gets full.

      Biddeford-Saco (Maine) Journal 24 December 12/4
   2. 1978

      > It breathes and hollars [sic] like All the Japanese sci fi monsters Rolled into one: Hogzilla.

      I. Reed, Secretary to Spirits 6
   3. 1988

      > Bosszilla... Your immediate supervisor at work is (a) crazy, (b) probably wanted by the FBI, (c) half man, half some type of life form from Pluto.

      D. Tkac, Everyday Health Tips iv. 147/1 (heading)
   4. 1993

      > He dubs a charging turkey ‘Bird-zilla’.

      USA Today 3 February 10d/7
   5. 2005

      > She's not the mom-zilla your writer depicted.

      New York Magazine 4 July 12
   6. 2007

      > That was very Hollywood, however, and this is very British, especially those depressing streetscapes of north London, through which our ageing thespzilla stomps defiantly around in his old-geezer's woolly hat.

      Guardian 26 January (Film & Music section) 6/2
   U.S. English colloquial and slang

## Pronunciation

Primary stress is attracted to the first syllable of this combining form and vowels may be reduced accordingly.

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. bridezilla, n. 1995–
   A woman thought to have become intolerably…

1. groomzilla, n. 2003–
   A man thought to have become intolerably…

-zilla, comb. form was first published in December 2009.

-zilla, comb. form was last modified in July 2023.