zhttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/z_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_useZ, n.
First published 1921; not fully revised

Znoun

  1. I.
    The letter, its sound or shape; (also) denoting position in serial order.
    1. I.1.
      Old English–
      The letter, or its sound.
      1. OE
        Z, eac, se grecisca stæf, geendað on a. Se stæf is genumen of Grecum to ledenspræce for greciscum wordum.
        Ælfric, Grammar (Z.) ii. 6
      2. 1528
        S betwene two vowelles, pronounceth [sic] by .z.
        in A. J. Ellis, On Early English Pronunciation (1871) vol. III. 816
      3. 1530
        The x by this rule shalbe sounded lyke an z [i.e. ezod].
        J. Palsgrave, Lesclarcissement 38
      4. ?1533
        If ye do adde a z, at the latter ende of them, than are they plurell nombres.
        G. Du Wes, Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Bii v
      5. 1611
        The tongue in the former [guere] giuing onely a touch to the palate, and sounding the later [poison] as if it were a Z.
        R. Cotgrave, Dictionarie of French & English Tongues Briefe Direct. 2/1
      6. 1668
        (Z) is by some stiled (S) molle... (Zh) the sonorous Consonant, and (Sh) its correspondent mute.
        Bishop J. Wilkins, Essay Real Character iii. xii. 369
      7. 1669
        The vowel I, partaking also of the nature of a Consonant, added to Z, comes very near to the sound of Zh, as Zya.
        W. Holder, Elements of Speech 43
      8. 1792
        The Z's, an ancient sign at grocers shops, look very enigmatical; but I am told they allude to the word zinziber, or ginger, and intimated the sale of that article.
        W. Roberts, Looker-on No. 32. 255
      9. 1838
        I have got names ready made to the end of the alphabet, and all the way through it again, when we come to Z.
        C. Dickens, Oliver Twist vol. I. ii. 18
    2. I.2.
      1680–
      The letter considered with respect to its shape; a figure or object of this shape. Also attributive, as Z-bar noun a metal bar having a cross-section of a form resembling a Z; so Z-iron. Z-bend noun a series of bends in a road forming a shape like a letter Z. Z-crank noun a crank of zigzag form, used in marine engines. Z-fold adjective (of print-out paper) in a continuous strip that comes folded in alternate directions in a stacked pile. Z-plan noun Architecture the ground plan of a type of Scottish castle having a central block with a tower placed at each of two diagonally opposite corners. Z-plastic adjective Surgery involving the use of Z-shaped incisions; also as n., Z-plastic surgery. Z-plasty noun a technique in which one or more Z-shaped incisions is made (the diagonals forming one straight line) and the two triangular flaps of skin so formed are rotated and drawn across the diagonal before being stitched, so as to give a less obvious Z-shaped scar and minimize the effect of contraction; an operation in which this technique is used. Also in combinations as Z-shaped adjective in the shape of a Z; spec. in Archaeology, designating a rod motif found on Pictish stones.
      1. 1680
        Bent backwards and forwards..somewhat like an z [i.e. ezod or izzard].
        J. Moxon, Mechanick Exercises vol. I. xiii. 223
      2. 1688
        A Roman Z.
        R. Holme, Academy of Armory iii. 408/2
      3. 1711
        The Irregularity of his Shape, which he describes as very much resembling the Letter Z.
        R. Steele, Spectator No. 17. ⁋2
      4. 1820
        No more the well taught feet shall tread The figure of the mazy Z.
        Death of Minuet 24 in Edinburgh Magazine & Literary Miscellany vol. VI. 453
      5. 1852
        The road winds up the side of the cone like a strung series of Zs.
        Household Words vol. 4 423/1
      6. 1858
        Z-crank, the peculiarly-shaped crank of a cylinder, in a newly-invented engine for marine propulsion.
        P. L. Simmonds, Dictionary of Trade Products
      7. 1877
        Provided the thin iron plating..be stiffened by angle-bars, T bars, or Z bars riveted to its surface.
        W. H. White, Manual of Naval Architecture ix. 360
      8. 1877
        Z-iron..is used for frames behind armour in ironclads.
        W. H. White, Manual of Naval Architecture x. 386
      9. 1880
        The Z and kindred varieties of this ornament.
        J. Anderson, Scotland in Early Christian Times 2nd Series 114
      10. 1887
        As one form of plan is designated the L plan, it has occurred to us that the form we are now considering might..be called the Z plan. We have accordingly adopted this nomenclature.
        D. Macgibbon & T. Ross, Castellated & Domestic Architecture of Scotland vol. II. 6
      11. 1889
        Instead of these Z bars, earlier vessels have the frames at their ends made up of two angle bars riveted back to back.
        J. J. Welch, Text Book of Naval Architecture vi. 89
      12. 1893
        The Z-patterns (fine lines arranged diagonally, like natural and reversed Zeds combined).
        F. Madan, Books in Manuscript 53
      13. 1901
        The double-disc and crescent symbols of the Pictish stones may be connected with the worship of the Blessed Virgin, the Z and V-shaped rods being her floriated sceptre.
        Proceedings of Society Antiquaries Scotland 3rd Series vol. 11 91
      14. 1908
        A new and entirely Scotch plan is very common. This has been called the zigzag or Z plan.
        F. R. Fraprie, Castles & Keeps of Scotland i. 22
      15. 1913
        Z-plastic surgery.
        S. L. McCurdy in Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics vol. 16 209 (heading)
      16. 1913
        Z-plastic operation of the neck for burn scar.
        S. L. McCurdy in Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics vol. 16 212/2 (caption)
      17. 1927
        Two plates of silver engraved with the double disc and Z-shaped rod symbol.
        Scottish Notes & Queries 3rd Series vol. V. 2/1
      18. 1934
        Davis has been interested in tracing the history of the use of Z plastic.
        Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics vol. 58 178/1
      19. 1940
        2 patients returned for further work after a Z plasty with skin graft.
        Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics vol. 70 942/1
      20. 1958
        The shops were grouped round the angles of a Z-bend in the road.
        New Statesman 1 November 590/2
      21. 1964
        A Z-plasty should be done only on one aspect of the finger at a time, thereby avoiding complete disruption of the circulation.
        R. J. V. Battle, Plastic Surgery xii. 316
      22. 1967
        The smudge is gone from Z-fold paper.
        Electronics 6 March 282/2
      23. 1967
        A selection of the commoner symbols is illustrated here, the most common of all being the crescent with an applied V-shaped rod, the double disc with an applied Z-shaped rod.
        I. Henderson, Picts v. 104
      24. 1973
        About twelve miles of diabolical Z-bends.
        J. Leasor, Host of Extras v. 69
      25. 1977
        The Achilles tendon is lengthened by Z-plasty and then the posterior capsules of the ankle and subtalar joints are incised transversely.
        Proceedings of Royal Society of Medicine vol. 70 256/2
      26. 1977
        Z-shaped techniques other than Z-plasties, which are referred to as ‘Z-plastics’, differ in the movement or lack of movement of the flaps formed by the zigzag incision.
        Clinics in Plastic Surgery vol. IV. 207/1
      27. 1978
        Began 1560, it is an excellent example of a Z-plan castle, comprising towers at diagonally opposite corners of a main block.
        A. Ritchie & G. Ritchie, Ancient Monuments of Orkney 79
      28. 1982
        It [sc. a digital plotter] also uses Z-fold paper and disposable fiber-tip pens.
        Computerworld (U.S.) 15 March 66
    3. I.3.
      a1821–
      As the last letter of the alphabet; hence allusively for ‘end’. Chiefly in from A to Z: see from A to (also until) Z at A n. I.3.
      1. a1821
        We must obey The prince from A to Z.
        J. Keats, Otho v. v, in R. M. Milnes, Life, Letters & Literary Remains Keats (1848) vol. II. 193
      2. 1876
        Ask the experts! How they shake the head O'er these characters,..Call them forgery from A to Z!
        R. Browning, Fears & Scruples v
      3. 1877
        Christ is the A, and the Z of the Bible.
        J. Wells, Bible Echoes 297
      4. 1912
        I know Ealing from A to Z, but have never visited Regent Street.
        L. Tracy, Mirabel's Island v. 84
      1. I.4.a.
        1852–
        Used (usually repeated) to represent a buzzing sound; also conventionally representing the sound of snoring. Hence Z-ing n., and as v. intransitive to make such a noise or noises.
        1. 1852
          The dry z-ing of the locust is heard.
          H. D. Thoreau, Journal 15 June (1997) vol. V. 96
        2. 1884
          The bats were seen flitting with thin z-like cry high up over the waterside.
          R. W. Buchanan, New Abelard i
        3. 1893
          The oars rip out and go z-zzp all along the line.
          R. Kipling, Many Inventions 103
        4. 1902
          The rhythmical z-z-z! z-z-z! [of the saw].
          S. E. White, Blazed Trail ii. 11
        5. 1909
          He had a way of drawing air in at times through his teeth that gave a whispering zest to his speech. It's a sound I can only represent as a soft Zzzz.
          H. G. Wells, Tono-Bungay (U.K. edition) i. ii. 67
        6. 1909
          He meditated for a time and Zzzzed softly.
          H. G. Wells, Tono-Bungay (U.K. edition) iii. ii. 326
        7. 1924
          Z-z-z (buzzing, or snoring).
          Dialect Notes vol. 5 259
        8. 1951
          A spark danced between two terminals, a filament snake spat an irate, ‘Zzzt!’
          Blue Book Magazine January 25/1
        9. 1966
          Hiccup, jerk, zzzzzz, snort.
          L. Cohen, Beautiful Losers i. 16
        10. 1967
          Lola: (makes buzzing noise) Zzzzzzz.
          V. C. Welburn, Johnny so Long ii. i. 46
        11. 1975
          David sits in the chair, puts his arms on the armrests, presses his neck against the back of the chair, and moves his feet together. ‘Zzzz,’ he says, and his head falls forward.
          New Yorker 21 April 36/3
        12. 1976
          The zzzzz-noise of the electric hare gliding past the opening traps grabs everyone's attention.
          Cambridge Independent Press 16 December ii. 3/2
        13. 1983
          Once you have hit on a commercial product you just go on producing more of the same, over and..zzzz..over and..zzzz..over and..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
          Private Eye 4 November 6/2
        14. 1984
          We suspect public interest..more nearly resembles a cartoonist's depiction of a man sawing wood—ZZZZZZZZZ.
          Wall Street Journal 9 October 28/2
        15. 1984
          Zzzzing off for forty winks on a regular basis may not sound much like Action Man stuff, but for Alex Gardner it's the most exciting part of the day.
          Oxford Star 29–30 November 19/3
      2. I.4.b.
        1963–
        In colloquial phrase to catch some z's and variants, to get some sleep (where z represents the sound of snoring). U.S.
        1. 1963
          An onomatopoetic construction reported four times is get some Z's... Variants occurring once were: bagging Z's, copping some Z's, cutting Z's, and knocking out Z's.
          American Speech vol. 38 174
        2. 1973
          Got to go..cop me some z's.
          A. Dundes, Mother Wit 238
        3. 1977
          All Harvey wanted..was to pop his Sominex and catch a few z's.
          C. McFadden, Serial (1978) xxxii. 71/1
  2. II.
    Symbolic uses.
    1. II.5.
      1660–
      Mathematics. Used as the symbol for the third of a set of unknown or variable quantities (the first and second being denoted by x and y); spec. in Analytical Geometry of three dimensions, for a quantity measured in the direction of the third axis of coordinates (hence called the †axis of z, now always z-axis; also transferred).
      For the history see X n. II.3.
      1. 1660
        Note alwayes the given quantities or numbers with Consonants, and those which are sought with Vowels, or else the given quantities with the former letters in the Alphabet, and the sought with the last sort of letters, as z y x, &c. lest you make a confusion in your work.
        J. Moore, Arithmetick ii. i. §19. 16 (Algebra)
      2. 1709
        Let y = As the Abscissa, and z = SP, put x = Aa the Distance between the two Semi-ordinates; which we suppose to be infinitely near each other.
        J. Ward, Young Mathematician's Guide (1713) iv. iii. 380
      3. 1929
        The z-axis coincides with the crystallographic c-axis of 3-fold symmetry, the y-axis is ⊥ to a face of the hexagonal first order prism, and, in dextro crystals, the + direction of the x-axis is outward through one of the faces..of the trigonal pyramid.
        International Crit. Tables (National Research Council U.S.) vol. VI. 211/1
      4. 1967
        Plug-in markers offer not only variable band~width, but also Z-axis or pulse-type marking.
        Electronics 6 March 2 (advertisement)
    2. II.6.
      1798–
      Used abstractly for the name of a person or thing: cf. X n. II.3a, II.3c, Y n. 5.
      1. 1798
        The names designated by the letters W. X. Y. Z. in the following copies of letters from the Envoys of the United States to the French Republic.
        Correspondence Pinckney, Marshall & Gerry 23
      2. 1833
        Palmer musters the Z.'s [sc. Establishment men] in great force against the tracts, and some Evangelicals.
        J. H. Newman, Letter to Froude 13 November
      3. 1848
        Lord X, the Marquis of Y, and Baron Z.
        J. Hannay, Biscuits & Grog 109
      4. 1873
        X won't be preached to along with Y and Z and Q; that won't do X any good, for he thinks it is all meant for Y, Z, and Q.
        H. Drummond, New Evangelism & Other Address (1899) 199
      5. 1880
        Mr. X. pranced in, in his long night garment, with a candle, young Z. after him with another candle.
        ‘M. Twain’, Tramp Abroad xiii. 121
      6. 1901
        You feel obliged to ask the X's, the Y's, and the Z's from duty, and so you do... This is the kind of assortment that arrives: Papa X, Mamma X, and two girl X'es; Papa Y, Mamma Y, and Master and Miss Y; Papa Z, Mamma Z, Aunt Z, and Midlle. Z—such a party!
        E. Glyn, Visits of Elizabeth (1906) 70
    3. II.7.
      1842–
      Used, like the other letters of the alphabet, to denote position in a series.
      1. 1842
        We dismounted with as much ease and comfort as though we had been escorted by the whole Metropolitan Force from A to Z inclusive.
        C. Dickens, American Notes vol. I. viii. 303
      2. 1860
        A very Rabelais of the Z division.
        G. A. Sala, Baddington Peerage xxiv
      3. 1860
        Z. 92 saw the striped bracelet of a sergeantcy in perspective.
        G. A. Sala, Baddington Peerage xxiv
      4. 1862
        ‘Tell that to his worship,’ says the incredulous Z.
        W. M. Thackeray, Adventures of Philip vol. III. ix. 208
      5. 1867
        He exchanged into the Z Battery going out to India.
        ‘Ouida’, Cecil Castlemaine's Gage 381
    4. II.8.
      1917–
      Genetics. Z is used to designate the male-determining sex chromosome in species in which the female rather than the male is the heterogametic sex.
      1. 1917
        Since the female here [sc. in pigeons] is the heterozygotic sex (ZW) the results are such as would follow a direct influence on the sex chromosomes when the polar body is eliminated.
        T. H. Morgan in American Naturalist vol. 51 534
      2. 1925
        The locus of the male tendency gene (M) is in the ‘Z-chromosome’ of which two are present in the male and one in the female.
        T. H. Morgan in American Naturalist vol. 59 133
      3. 1966
        The phenotypic expression of plumage factors on the Z chromosome of birds seems to be a function, principally, of gene dosage.
        Lancet 24 December 1397/2
      4. 1971
        In animals with female heterogamety, many authors refer to the chromosome which is present only in females as W and the paired sex chromosomes of males as ZZ.
        Nature 18 June 432/2
      5. 1976
        In avian species, the heterogametic (Z W) female sex possesses W-linked histocompatibility antigen.
        Nature 17 June 598/2
    5. II.9.
      1931–
      Physics. Z is the symbol for the atomic number of an element.
      1. 1931
        We have taken Z = 8 (oxygen).
        Proceedings of Royal Society A. vol. 133 234
      2. 1962
        Electrons such as those in the outer Van Allen radiation belt are easily stopped by a few millimeters of a low-Z material such as aluminum or magnesium.
        F. I. Ordway et al., Basic Astronautics xii. 502
      3. 1978
        The next atom to build is lithium, Z = 3.
        P. W. Atkins, Physical Chemistry xiv. 438
    6. II.10.
      1935–
      Z is used to denote one of the two directions of twist in spinning (see quot. 1935); hence z-spun adj.
      1. 1935
        A yard or cord has ‘S’ twist if, when held in a vertical position, the spirals conform in slope to the central portion of the letter ‘S’, and ‘Z’ twist if the spirals conform in slope to the central portion of the letter ‘Z’.
        Proceedings of American Society for Testing Materials vol. 35 i. 448
      2. 1964
        In thigh spinning, for example, a right-handed person will almost always produce Z-spun yarn.
        H. Hodges, Artifacts ix. 128
      3. 1980
        There are two types of twist possible in a yarn. One is an S twist, the other a Z twist.
        A. Fritz, Fibre of Clothing iii. 40
    7. II.11.
      1967–
      Particle Physics. Z is the symbol of a heavy, uncharged vector boson that forms a triplet with the two Ws.
      1. 1967
        The only unequivocal new predictions made by this model have to do with the couplings of the neutral intermediate meson Zμ.
        S. Weinberg in Physical Review Letters vol. 19 1265/2
      2. 1967
        Our Zμ and Wμ mesons get their mass from the spontaneous breaking of the symmetry.
        S. Weinberg in Physical Review Letters vol. 19 1266/1
      3. 1971
        This procedure..resulted in a model involving electrons, electron-type neutrinos, charged intermediate bosons (Wμ), neutral intermediate bosons (Zμ), [etc.].
        S. Weinberg in Physical Review Letters vol. 27 1688
      4. 1977
        The family of intermediate vector bosons, of which the photon is a member, is believed to contain one heavy charged particle and its anti~particle, called the W+ and W, and one even heavier neutral particle, called the Z°.
        Dædalus Fall 32
      5. 1982
        The heavy W and Z bosons..can be produced in pp reactions.
        Nature 23 September 295/2
      6. 1983
        CERN physicists find the Z particle.
        New Scientist 12 May 355 (heading)
      7. 1983
        This resulted in a total of six examples of the Z particle (four decaying into e+e and two into μ+μ) and 52 W± particles.
        Nature 25 August 686/2

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

Z, n. was last modified in June 2025.