zone time, n.

zone-time
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zone-time_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zone timenoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zone time mean?

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

About 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1900 | 0.004
1910 | 0.011
1920 | 0.012
1930 | 0.012
1940 | 0.015
1950 | 0.017
1960 | 0.017
1970 | 0.018
1980 | 0.013
1990 | 0.012
2000 | 0.012
2010 | 0.01

### Where does the noun zone time come from?

Earliest known use

1900s

The earliest known use of the noun zone time is in the 1900s.

OED's earliest evidence for zone time is from 1908, in the writing of H. B. Morse.

### Nearby entries

1. zone leveller, n. 1956–
2. zone levelling, n. 1953–
3. zone-melt, v. 1982–
4. zone melting, n. 1952–
5. zone plate, n. 1890–
6. zoner, n. 1962–
7. zone-refine, v. 1962–
8. zone refiner, n. 1959–
9. zone refining, n. 1952–
10. zone therapy, n. 1915–
11. zone time, n.1908–
12. Zonian, n. 1910–
13. zonic, adj. 1797–
14. zoning, n. a1821–
15. zonite, n. 1860–
16. zonitic, adj. 1888–
17. zonk, v. 1950–
18. zonk, int. 1949–
19. zonked, adj. 1959–
20. zonkey, n. 1953–
21. zonking, adj. 1958–

## Meaning & use

1. 1908–
   Mean solar time at the standard meridian on which the local time zone is based, taken as the standard time throughout the zone (cf. Zulu n. & adj.).
   1. 1908

      > The Eighteen Provinces roughly extend from..longitude 98° to 122° E., comprising the seventh and eighth hours of the Zone time east of Greenwich.

      H. B. Morse, Trade Chinese Empire viii. 203
   2. 1930

      > The passengers wonder whether they should retire by Greenwich or zone time.

      Daily Express 16 August 1/3
   3. 1981

      > A vessel's chronometer or watch is not generally adjusted or altered at any time while the vessel is at sea, but her clock is altered as she moves through each zone in such a way that it should always be indicating the correct Zone Time for the vessel's position.

      G. Watkins, Exercises in Astro-navigation ii. 22
   1. time 1646–
      Science. With preceding distinguishing word. A particular system of measuring or reckoning the length of the day and hence the passage of time.
   2. apparent time 1694–
      = apparent solar time at solar time, n. 2(a).
   3. local time a1703–
      (Originally) time at a particular place reckoned from the instant of transit of the mean sun over the meridian at that place (which defines noon)…
   4. solar time 1714–
      A time of day or point in time, calculated with reference to the position of the sun; spec. (a) a time as calculated with reference to the position…
   5. ship time 1778–
      Canadian. The time at which an annual supply ship arrives in port, typically after river ice has melted or broken up in the summer. Now chiefly histo…
   6. Greenwich Mean Time 1782–
      Mean solar time at the Greenwich meridian, internationally recognized as a standard time; abbreviated GMT.
   7. standard time 1809–
      A standard system of reckoning time adopted throughout a country or region, now based on the time zone in which it is situated; the time as…
   8. sun time 1837–
      Time determined with reference to the position of the sun, solar time; esp. time as calculated by the apparent motion of the sun (i.e. as shown on…
   9. GMT 1840–
      = Greenwich Mean Time n. at Greenwich, n. I.1c.
   10. railway time 1847–
       A standard time adopted throughout a railway system to supersede local time for the purposes of railway operations.
   11. railroad time 1849–
       = railway time, n.
   12. Greenwich time 1861–
       Time by the sun at the Greenwich meridian; spec. = Greenwich Mean Time n. at sense I.1c.
   13. Eastern time 1878–
       a. North American = Eastern Standard Time, n. (a); b. Australian = Eastern Standard Time, n. (b); also more fully Australian Eastern Time…
   14. Pacific time 1880–
       = Pacific Standard Time, n.
   15. Universal Time 1882–
       An internationally accepted standard time corresponding to mean solar time at the Greenwich meridian, calculated from midnight as zero; spec. (more…
   16. central standard time 1883–
       a. North American the standard time in a zone including most of Mexico and central parts of the United States and Canada, based on the mean solar…
   17. central time 1883–
       a. North American = central standard time, n. (a); b. Australian= Australian Central Standard Time, n..
   18. Eastern Standard Time 1883–
       a. North American the standard time in a zone including Ontario, Quebec, and the east coast region of the United States, based on the mean solar…
   19. Mountain time 1883–
       The time based on the mean solar time of the 105th meridian, esp. = Mountain Standard Time, n.; (also) the zone of Mountain Standard Time.
   20. Central European Time 1891–
       The standard time in a zone including most of western and central continental Europe, one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; abbreviated CET.
   21. Eastern European time 1892–
       The standard time in a zone including much of eastern Europe, two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; abbreviated EET.
   22. British Standard Time 1908–
       a. = Greenwich Mean Time n. at Greenwich, n. I.1c (now disused); b. the standard time used experimentally in the United Kingdom from 18 February…
   23. daylight saving 1908–
       A method of securing longer evening daylight during the summer by setting the clocks ahead of standard time, typically by one hour; the period…
   24. daylight saving time 1908–
       Time as adjusted during the summer to achieve longer evening daylight, by setting the clocks ahead of standard time, typically by one hour; the…
   25. zone time 1908–
       Mean solar time at the standard meridian on which the local time zone is based, taken as the standard time throughout the zone (cf. Zulu, n. &…
   26. LMT 1909–
       Local mean time.
   27. British Summer Time 1916–
       The daylight saving time used in the United Kingdom, one hour in advance of GMT (UTC), and in force in the summer months of most years since it was…
   28. GMAT 1916–
       Greenwich Mean Astronomical Time, the mean solar time on the Greenwich meridian, with noon taken as the beginning of each day; cf. GMT, n.
   29. summertime 1916–
       Chiefly as two words, and frequently with capital initials, as Summer Time. The standard time (one hour in advance of ordinary time) adopted in…
   30. Eastern Daylight Time 1921–
       The daylight saving time used in the zone observing Eastern standard time, four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time; abbreviated EDT.
   31. U.T. 1929–
       Universal Time.
   32. B.S.T. 1930–
       British Summer Time; (from 1968) British Standard Time.
   33. EST 1935–
       = Eastern Standard Time, n. (in both senses).
   34. atomic time 1937–
       Time as measured by atomic clocks; spec. (more fully International Atomic Time) an internationally accepted time scale now based on the weighted…
   35. British Double Summer Time 1941–
       The daylight saving time used in the United Kingdom under emergency regulations, two hours ahead of GMT (UTC), and in force in the summer months…
   36. wartime 1942–
       In form war time. In the United States: a form of year-round daylight saving time introduced during World War II. Now historical.
   37. B.D.S.T. 1943–
       British Double Summer Time.
   38. ephemeris time 1950–
       ephemeris time n. a uniform time scale used in astronomy, defined in terms of the orbital motions of the moon and planets and taking as the…
   39. Zulu time 1959–
       (An informal name for) Greenwich Mean Time, and (subsequently) Universal Time; cf. Zulu, n. A.5b.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zone time typically occurs about 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zone time is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 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 zone time, n., 1900–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1900 | 0.004
1910 | 0.011
1920 | 0.012
1930 | 0.012
1940 | 0.015
1950 | 0.017
1960 | 0.017
1970 | 0.018
1980 | 0.013
1990 | 0.012
2000 | 0.012
2010 | 0.01

Originally published as part of the entry for zone, n.

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