zinc yellow, n.

zinc-yellow
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zinc-yellow_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zinc yellownoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zinc yellow mean?

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

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1850 | 0.0015
1860 | 0.0013
1870 | 0.0017
1880 | 0.0026
1890 | 0.0033
1900 | 0.0046
1910 | 0.0075
1920 | 0.008
1930 | 0.0094
1940 | 0.0098
1950 | 0.0093
1960 | 0.0092
1970 | 0.0082
1980 | 0.0056
1990 | 0.0051
2000 | 0.0041
2010 | 0.0034

### Where does the noun zinc yellow come from?

Earliest known use

1840s

The earliest known use of the noun zinc yellow is in the 1840s.

### Nearby entries

1. zinc orange, n. 1918–
2. zincous, adj. 1842–
3. zinc-plate, n. 1823–
4. zinc-powder, n. 1881–
5. zinc roof, n. 1883–
6. zinc spar, n. 1796–
7. zinc-sponge, n. 1902–
8. zinc sulphide, n. 1851–
9. zinc white, n. 1847–
10. zincy, adj. 1757–
11. zinc yellow, n.1847–
12. zindabad, int. & n. 1930–
13. zindan, n. 1844–
14. Zindikite, n. 1694–
15. Zindiq, n. 1667–
16. zine, n. 1946–
17. zineb, n. 1950–
18. zines, int.?1701–10
19. zinester, n. 1986–
20. zinfandel, n. 1880–
21. zing, v. 1899–

## Meaning & use

1. 1847–
   A greenish-yellow pigment consisting principally of zinc chromate.
   1. 1847

      > Zinc yellow

      [see zinc green n.].
   2. 1901

      > Zinc yellow may be prepared by the immediate precipitation of a solution of zinc sulphate by a solution of potassium chromate.

      A. C. Wright, translation of Bersch, Manuf. Mineral & Lake Pigments xiv. 152
   3. 1974

      > Zinc yellow has a greenish cast because of a high content of chromic oxide.

      Encyclopædia Britannica Macropædia vol. XIII. 889/1
   1. citron-yellow 1708–
      a. adj. Designating the yellow or greenish-yellow colour of a citron or lemon; having this colour; b. n. a citron-yellow colour.
   2. olive yellow 1829–
   3. oil-yellow 1843–
   4. zinc yellow 1847–
      A greenish-yellow pigment consisting principally of zinc chromate.
   5. oliveness 1890–
      The quality of being olive-coloured.
   6. Vaseline 1966–
      The greenish-yellow colour of Vaseline as used in the manufacture of glass; glassware of this colour.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

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

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

### Frequency of zinc yellow, n., 1850–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1850 | 0.0015
1860 | 0.0013
1870 | 0.0017
1880 | 0.0026
1890 | 0.0033
1900 | 0.0046
1910 | 0.0075
1920 | 0.008
1930 | 0.0094
1940 | 0.0098
1950 | 0.0093
1960 | 0.0092
1970 | 0.0082
1980 | 0.0056
1990 | 0.0051
2000 | 0.0041
2010 | 0.0034

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

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