zygantrum, n.

zygantrum
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zygantrum_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zygantrumnoun

## Earlier version

- zygantrum in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zygantrum mean?

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

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1850 | 0.0055
1860 | 0.0055
1870 | 0.0049
1880 | 0.0052
1890 | 0.005
1900 | 0.005
1910 | 0.0038
1920 | 0.0031
1930 | 0.0027
1940 | 0.0027
1950 | 0.002
1960 | 0.0019
1970 | 0.0014
1980 | 0.0014
1990 | 0.0014
2000 | 0.0011
2010 | 0.001

### How is the noun zygantrum pronounced?

#### British English

/zʌɪˈɡantrəm/
/zɪˈɡantrəm/

### Where does the noun zygantrum come from?

Earliest known use

1850s

The earliest known use of the noun zygantrum is in the 1850s.

OED's earliest evidence for zygantrum is from 1854, in the writing of Richard Owen, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.

zygantrum is a borrowing from Latin.

### Nearby entries

1. Zwinglianist, n. 1673–1759
2. zwischenzug, n. 1941–
3. zwitterion, n. 1906–
4. zwitterionic, adj. 1946–
5. Zydeco, n. 1949–
6. zygadite, n. 1861–
7. zygaena, n. 1717–
8. zygaenid, n. & adj. 1913–
9. zygaenidan, n. 1837–
10. zygal, adj. 1886–
11. zygantrum, n.1854–
12. zygapophysial, adj. 1870–
13. zygapophysis, n. 1854–
14. zygite, n. 1888–
15. zygnemaceous, adj.
16. zygnemid, n. 1887–
17. zygnomic, adj. 1926–
18. zygo-, comb. form
19. zygobranchiate, adj. 1883–
20. zygocactus, n. 1950–
21. zygocardiac, adj. 1877–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Latin.
modern Latin, < Greek ζυγόν yoke + ἄντρον cave.

## Meaning & use

Anatomy and Zoology.

1. 1854–
   A double cavity on the posterior side of the neural arch of each ordinary vertebra in serpents and some lizards, into which the zygosphene of the next vertebra fits.
   1. 1854

      > This wedge [sc. the zygosphene] is received into a cavity (the ‘zygantrum’) excavated in the posterior expansion of the neural arch.

      R. Owen, Structure of Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle of Sciences: Organic Nature vol. I. 197
   2. 1888
      G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson, Forms of Animal Life (ed. 2) 73.
   animals anatomy
   1. anteocular 1848–
      An anteocular structure; esp. = preocular, n. Now rare.
   2. zygantrum 1854–
      A double cavity on the posterior side of the neural arch of each ordinary vertebra in serpents and some lizards, into which the zygosphene of the…
   3. zygosphene 1854–
      A double wedge-shaped projection on the anterior side of the neural side of each ordinary vertebra in serpents and some lizards, which fits into the…
   4. preocular 1859–
      Zoology. In a snake or lizard: a scale situated immediately in front of the eye.
   5. occipital 1890
      Zoology. Either of a pair of plates on the occipital region in certain snakes. Obsolete. rare.
   6. hemipenis 1909–
      One of the paired eversible copulatory organs in snakes and lizards.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zʌɪˈɡantrəm/
/zɪˈɡantrəm/

####

##### 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.

## Forms

### Variant forms

Plural zygantra.

## Frequency

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

zygantrum 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 zygantrum, 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 | 0.0055
1860 | 0.0055
1870 | 0.0049
1880 | 0.0052
1890 | 0.005
1900 | 0.005
1910 | 0.0038
1920 | 0.0031
1930 | 0.0027
1940 | 0.0027
1950 | 0.002
1960 | 0.0019
1970 | 0.0014
1980 | 0.0014
1990 | 0.0014
2000 | 0.0011
2010 | 0.001

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

zygantrum, n. was last modified in December 2024.