zoothecium, n.

zoothecium
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zoothecium_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2017

# zootheciumnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zoothecium mean?

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

### How is the noun zoothecium pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌzuːə(ʊ)ˈθiːsiəm/
zoo-oh-THEE-see-uhm
/ˌzəʊə(ʊ)ˈθiːsiəm/
zoh-oh-THEE-see-uhm

#### U.S. English

/ˌzoʊəˈθisiəm/
zoh-uh-THEE-see-uhm
/ˌzuəˈθisiəm/
zoo-uh-THEE-see-uhm

### Where does the noun zoothecium come from?

Earliest known use

1880s

The earliest known use of the noun zoothecium is in the 1880s.

OED's earliest evidence for zoothecium is from around 1880–1, in the writing of William Saville-Kent, marine biologist.

### Nearby entries

1. zoosporangium, n. 1862–
2. zoospore, n. 1842–
3. zoosporic, adj. 1854–
4. zoosporous, adj. 1845–
5. zoot, n. 1942–
6. zootaxy, n. 1833–
7. zootechnic, adj. 1861–
8. zootechnics, n. 1863–
9. zootechny, n. 1841–
10. zootheca, n. 1852–
11. zoothecium, n.1880–
12. zootheism, n. 1879–
13. zootheist, n. 1879–
14. zootheistic, adj. 1879–
15. zoothome, n. 1872–
16. zootic, adj. 1816–
17. zootokon, n. 1661
18. zootomic, adj. 1801–
19. zootomical, adj. 1799–
20. zootomically, adv. 1849–
21. zootomist, n. 1663–

## Meaning & use

Now rare.

1. 1880–
   An aggregate of the fused shells or protective sheaths of certain aquatic colonial protozoans; cf. polythecium n., zoodendrium n.
   1. 1880–1

      > For these aggregations of..simple loricæ the distinctive title of zoöthecia has been adopted.

      W. Saville-Kent, Manual of Infusoria vol. I. 61
   2. 1895

      > Social, forming a compound branching zoothecium. Genus Dinobryon.

      19th Annual Rep. Boston Water Board 1894–5 77
   3. 1963

      > Zoothecium, zoocytium.

      I. F. Henderson & W. D. Henderson, Dictionary of Biological Terms (ed. 8) 637/2
   microbiology
   1. lorica 1856–
      Zoology. The protective case or sheath of some infusorians and rotifers; also applied to the carapace of crustaceans.
   2. zoothecium 1880–
      An aggregate of the fused shells or protective sheaths of certain aquatic colonial protozoans; cf. polythecium, n., zoodendrium, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌzuːə(ʊ)ˈθiːsiəm/
zoo-oh-THEE-see-uhm
/ˌzəʊə(ʊ)ˈθiːsiəm/
zoh-oh-THEE-see-uhm

### U.S. English

/ˌzoʊəˈθisiəm/
zoh-uh-THEE-see-uhm
/ˌzuəˈθisiəm/
zoo-uh-THEE-see-uhm

####

##### 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 /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### 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.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- 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.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

Plural zoothecia.

Originally published as part of the entry for zoo-, comb. form

zoo-, comb. form was revised in June 2017.