zygodactyl, adj. & n.

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

# zygodactyladjective & noun

## Earlier version

- zygodactyl, a. and n. in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the word zygodactyl mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the word zygodactyl. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, 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 word zygodactyl?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1870 | 0.0013
1880 | 0.0013
1890 | 0.0013
1900 | 0.0012
1910 | 0.0013
1920 | 0.0014
1930 | 0.0012
1940 | 0.0014
1950 | 0.0017
1960 | 0.0019
1970 | 0.002
1980 | 0.0022
1990 | 0.0024
2000 | 0.0027
2010 | 0.0025

### How is the word zygodactyl pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌzʌɪɡə(ʊ)ˈdakt(ᵻ)l/
zigh-goh-DACK-tuhl
/ˌzɪɡə(ʊ)ˈdakt(ᵻ)l/
zig-oh-DACK-tuhl

#### U.S. English

/ˌzaɪɡəˈdækt(ə)l/
zigh-guh-DACK-tuhl

### Where does the word zygodactyl come from?

Earliest known use

1830s

The earliest known use of the word zygodactyl is in the 1830s.

OED's earliest evidence for zygodactyl is from 1831, in Gardens & Menagerie Zool. Society: Birds.

zygodactyl is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: zygo- comb. form, ‑dactyl comb. form.

### Nearby entries

1. zygapophysial, adj. 1870–
2. zygapophysis, n. 1854–
3. zygite, n. 1888–
4. zygnemaceous, adj.
5. zygnemid, n. 1887–
6. zygnomic, adj. 1926–
7. zygo-, comb. form
8. zygobranchiate, adj. 1883–
9. zygocactus, n. 1950–
10. zygocardiac, adj. 1877–
11. zygodactyl, adj. & n.1831–
12. zygodactylic, adj. 1835–
13. zygodactylous, adj. 1828–
14. zygodont, adj. 1888–
15. zygogenesis, n. 1950–
16. zygology, n. 1970–
17. zygoma, n. 1684–
18. zygomatic, adj. & n. 1712–
19. zygomatico-, comb. form
20. zygomato-, comb. form
21. zygomere, n. 1966–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by compounding.
< zygo- comb. form + ‑dactyl comb. form.

## Meaning & use

Ornithology.

1. adjective
   1. 1831–
      Having the toes ‘yoked’ or arranged in pairs, i.e. two before and two behind, as the feet of a scansorial bird, or the bird itself; yoke-toed.
      1. 1831

         > By the structure of their toes, which are partially zygodactyle (the intermediate ones being turned forwards, and the two lateral ones most commonly taking the opposite direction).

         Gardens & Menagerie Zool. Society: Birds 73
      2. 1890

         > The arrangement of toes in pairs, two before and two behind,..is called zygodactyl or zygodactylous.

         E. Coues, Handbook Field & General Ornithology 187
      birds
      1. zygodactylous 1828–
      2. yoke-toed 1831–
         Having toes arranged so that two point forward and two point backward; cf. zygodactylous, adj.
      3. zygodactyl 1831–
         Having the toes ‘yoked’ or arranged in pairs, i.e. two before and two behind, as the feet of a scansorial bird, or the bird itself; yoke-toed.
      4. anisodactylic 1834–
         Unequal-toed (said of those insessorial birds called by Temminck Anisodactyles).
      5. zygodactylic 1835–
      6. lark-heeled 1837–
         (See quots.)
      7. short-toed 1837–
         Having short toes; esp. in short-toed lark, any of various larks of the genera Calandrella and Spizocorys, which comprise small gregarious birds…
      8. heterodactylous 1854–
         Having the toes, or one of them, irregular or abnormal, as certain families of birds (Ogilvie, 1882).
      9. pair-toed 1868–
         (Of a bird) having the toes in pairs, two in front and two behind; zygodactylous.
      10. sympelmous 1885–
          Having the tendons of the deep flexors of the toes united before separating to each of the four digits.
      11. pamprodactylous 1889–
          Of a bird's foot: having all the toes pointing forward.
      12. pigeon-toed 1890
          Ornithology. Of a bird: having feet similar to those of pigeons, with the hind toe inserted at the same level as the other toes. Cf. peristeropod…
      13. pamprodactyl 1934–
          = pamprodactylous, adj.
      14. synpelmous
          Bad form of sympelmous (see sym-, prefix).
      View in Historical Thesaurus
2. noun
   1. 1890–
      A yoke-toed bird.
      1. [1842

         > Zygodactyles, the name given by M. Temminck to an order of Climbing Birds.

         W. T. Brande, Dictionary of Science, Literature & Art 1343/2]
      2. 1890

         > The true hind toe is wanting, the outer anterior one being reversed as usual in zygodactyls.

         E. Coues, Handbook Field & General Ornithology 188
      birds
      1. zygodactyl 1890–
         A yoke-toed bird.
      View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌzʌɪɡə(ʊ)ˈdakt(ᵻ)l/
zigh-goh-DACK-tuhl
/ˌzɪɡə(ʊ)ˈdakt(ᵻ)l/
zig-oh-DACK-tuhl

### U.S. English

/ˌzaɪɡəˈdækt(ə)l/
zigh-guh-DACK-tuhl

####

##### 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

Also zygodactyle.

## Frequency

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

zygodactyl 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 zygodactyl, adj. & n., 1870–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1870 | 0.0013
1880 | 0.0013
1890 | 0.0013
1900 | 0.0012
1910 | 0.0013
1920 | 0.0014
1930 | 0.0012
1940 | 0.0014
1950 | 0.0017
1960 | 0.0019
1970 | 0.002
1980 | 0.0022
1990 | 0.0024
2000 | 0.0027
2010 | 0.0025

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zygodactylous, adj. 1828–

1. zygodactylic, adj. 1835–

zygodactyl, adj. & n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zygodactyl, adj. & n. was last modified in July 2023.