zero-G, adj. & n.

zero-g
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zero-g_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zero-Gadjective & noun

## Factsheet

### What does the word zero-G mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the word zero-G. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the word zero-G?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1950 | 0.0057
1960 | 0.0052
1970 | 0.0056
1980 | 0.006
1990 | 0.0064
2000 | 0.0051
2010 | 0.0056

### Where does the word zero-G come from?

Earliest known use

1950s

The earliest known use of the word zero-G is in the 1950s.

OED's earliest evidence for zero-G is from 1950, in Technical Data Digest.

### Nearby entries

1. zero crossing, n. 1941–
2. zero day, n. 1917–
3. zero-defect, adj. 1964–
4. zero derivation, n. 1960–
5. zero derivative, adj. & n. 1948–
6. zero-derived, adj. 1971–
7. zero-dimensional, adj. 1880–
8. zero-emission, n. & adj. 1952–
9. zero-energy, adj. 1947–
10. zero-field, adj. 1915–
11. zero-G, adj. & n.1950–
12. zero grade, n. 1888–
13. zero gravity, n. & adj. 1915–
14. zero-graze, v. 1954–
15. zero-grazed, adj. 1958–
16. zero grazing, n. 1954–
17. zero growth, n. 1907–
18. zero hour, n. 1915–
19. zero-hours, adj. 1988–
20. zeroing, n. 1906–
21. zeroize, v. 1894–

## Meaning & use

1. 1950–
   a. adj.= zero gravity n. (b); b. n. = zero gravity n. (a).
   1. 1950

      > The zero-g-aircraft affords durations of the gravity free state more than twenty times as long.

      Technical Data Digest (Central Air Documents Office) September 12/3
   2. 1952

      > She was escorted by an elderly woman who seemed to be quite at home under zero ‘g’ and gave Linda a helpful push when she showed signs of being stuck.

      A. C. Clarke, Islands in Sky v. 80
   3. 1957

      > The monkeys proved to everybody's satisfaction that a few minutes of zero-g left no physiological impression.

      W. Ley, Rockets, Missiles, & Space Trav. (revised edition) xi. 356
   4. 1962

      > Walking will be impossible in zero G.

      F. I. Ordway et al., Basic Astronautics xii. 477
   5. 1985

      > We had two 250-pound thrusters to train for maneuvering in zero G conditions.

      Colorado Springs Gazette Tel. 1 August (Lifestyle section) e1/1
   6. 2015

      > Grab a spacesuit for a zero-G photo opportunity to convince your friends that you really are a high-flyer.

      Time Out London 20 October (Half-term Special Supplement) 12/4
   physical sciences
   1. zero gravity 1915–
      a. n. The state or condition in which there is no apparent force of gravity acting on a body, either because the force is locally weak, or because…
   2. zero-G 1950–
      a. adj.= zero gravity, n. (b); b. n. = zero gravity, n. (a).
   3. null-G 1953–
      = null-grav, adj.
   4. null-grav 1957–
      a. adj. (attributive) relating to, producing, or designed for a condition of zero gravity; b. n. = zero gravity, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. zero gravity 1915–
      a. n. The state or condition in which there is no apparent force of gravity acting on a body, either because the force is locally weak, or because…
   2. zero-G 1950–
      a. adj.= zero gravity, n. (b); b. n. = zero gravity, n. (a).
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Forms

### Variant forms

Also zero-g.

## Frequency

zero-G typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zero-G 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 zero-G, adj. & n., 1950–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1950 | 0.0057
1960 | 0.0052
1970 | 0.0056
1980 | 0.006
1990 | 0.0064
2000 | 0.0051
2010 | 0.0056

Originally published as part of the entry for zero, n. & adj.

zero, n. & adj. was revised in June 2018.