zonule, n.

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

# zonulenoun

## Earlier version

- zonule in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zonule mean?

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

zonule has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

anatomy (1820s) geology (1920s)

#### 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 zonule?

About 0.08occurrences per million words in modern written English

1820 | 0.0023
1830 | 0.0033
1840 | 0.0068
1850 | 0.0088
1860 | 0.013
1870 | 0.02
1880 | 0.031
1890 | 0.035
1900 | 0.05
1910 | 0.057
1920 | 0.081
1930 | 0.094
1940 | 0.097
1950 | 0.097
1960 | 0.1
1970 | 0.094
1980 | 0.091
1990 | 0.075
2000 | 0.066
2010 | 0.063

### How is the noun zonule pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzəʊnjuːl/
ZOH-nyool

### Where does the noun zonule come from?

Earliest known use

1820s

The earliest known use of the noun zonule is in the 1820s.

OED's earliest evidence for zonule is from 1828, in a translation by Robert Knox, anatomist and ethnologist.

zonule is a borrowing from Latin.

Etymons: Latin zōnula.

### Nearby entries

1. zonk, int. 1949–
2. zonked, adj. 1959–
3. zonkey, n. 1953–
4. zonking, adj. 1958–
5. zonky, adj. 1972–
6. zono-, comb. form
7. zonochlorite, n. 1872–
8. zonociliate, adj. 1885–
9. zonoplacental, adj. 1879–
10. zonular, adj. 1835–
11. zonule, n.1828–
12. zonulet, n. 1648
13. zonure, n. 1883–
14. zoo, n. 1835–
15. zoo-, comb. form
16. zooarchaeological, adj. 1962–
17. zooarchaeologist, n. 1957–
18. zooarchaeology, n. 1967–
19. zoobenthos, n. 1923–
20. zoocarp, n. 1824–88
21. zoocaulon, n. 1881–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Latin.
Etymon: Latin zōnula.
< modern Latin zōnula, diminutive of Latin zōna zone n.: see ‑ule suffix.

## Meaning & use

Anatomy.

1. 1.
   1828–
   A little zone: applied spec. to the ring-shaped fibrous structure which forms the suspensory ligament of the crystalline lens (zonule of Zinn).
   1. 1828

      > The author has omitted to describe the zonule of Zinn, or rather,..he has totally mistaken the connection between the coloured and colourless parts of the eye.

      R. Knox, translation of H. Cloquet, System of Human Anatomy 552
   2. 1854

      > The zonula is a thin transparent..membrane, stretching from the ora serrata retinæ as far as the border of the lens.

      Kölliker, Hum. Histology 390
   3. 1873

      > The zonula-fibres arise from the substance of the vitreous behind the ora serrata.

      H. Power, translation of Stricker's Manual Histology vol. III. 354
   anatomy
   1. white c1390–
      In full white of the eye. The white part of the eye, surrounding the iris and pupil; the sclera of the eyeball, which consists of white fibrous…
   2. crystalline humour a1398–
      = crystalline lens, n.
   3. crystalloid a1398–
      Anatomy. Originally: †the lens of the eye (cf. crystal, n. A.6, crystalline, n. B.1) (obsolete). In later use: the capsule of the lens, esp. (in full…
   4. crystalline?a1425–
      = crystalline lens, n. Also figurative (rare).
   5. eyeball 1575–
      The pupil, pupil and iris together, or (in later use) all of the visible part of the eye. Cf. ball of the eye at ball, n.¹ IV.14, apple of the eye at…
   6. eyeglass a1616
      The lens of the eye. Obsolete. rare.
   7. crystalline lens 1654–
      = lens, n. 2a; cf. crystalline humour, n.
   8. crystal 1657–
      The lens of the eye. Cf. crystalline lens, n., crystalline, n. B.1. Now rare.
   9. lens 1719–
      Anatomy. A transparent biconvex or spherical structure in the vertebrate eye, typically located between the iris and vitreous humour, which…
   10. membranula 1821–40
       Any of various small membranes or membranous structures, esp. in mosses.
   11. zonule 1828–
       A little zone: applied spec. to the ring-shaped fibrous structure which forms the suspensory ligament of the crystalline lens (zonule of Zinn).
   12. angle 1830–
       Ophthalmology. The angle between the cornea and the iris at the periphery of the anterior chamber of the eye, narrowing of which impedes the…
   13. disc 1861–
       Anatomy and Zoology. Any of various flattened circular structures inside the body. = optic disc, n.
   14. eye ground 1861–
       The fundus of the eye (the part of the eyeball opposite the pupil) as seen through an ophthalmoscope.
   15. eye wall 1885–
       a. The wall of the eyeball; b. a wall of heavy cloud forming a ring around the eye of a hurricane, being the location of the most severe weather.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1928–
   Geology. (See quot. 1928.)
   1. 1928

      > We have discussed the need for some term to designate the rocks bearing a faunule with several stratigraphers. In the course of one conversation Dr. Weller suggested ‘zonule’, and it has been approved by others... We propose the term, therefore, with the following definition: A zonule is the stratum or strata which contain a faunule, its thickness and area being limited by the vertical and horizontal range of that faunule.

      C. L. Fenton & M. A. Fenton in American Naturalist vol. 11 21
   2. 1958

      > A zonule is a biostratigraphic unit that is recognizable in a sedimentary basin or similar restricted area of sedimentation.

      Bulletin of Geological Society of America vol. 69 113/1
   3. 1976

      > The assemblage can be referred to the middle Eocene Proteacidites confragosus Zonule on the basis of the presence of the nominate species.

      BMR Journal Austral. Geol. & Geophysics vol. 1 109
   geology

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzəʊnjuːl/
ZOH-nyool

####

##### 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.

####

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 in Latin form zonula /ˈzəʊnjʊlə/ .

## Frequency

zonule typically occurs about 0.08 times per million words in modern written English.

zonule is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 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 zonule, n., 1820–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1820 | 0.0023
1830 | 0.0033
1840 | 0.0068
1850 | 0.0088
1860 | 0.013
1870 | 0.02
1880 | 0.031
1890 | 0.035
1900 | 0.05
1910 | 0.057
1920 | 0.081
1930 | 0.094
1940 | 0.097
1950 | 0.097
1960 | 0.1
1970 | 0.094
1980 | 0.091
1990 | 0.075
2000 | 0.066
2010 | 0.063

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

zonule, n. was last modified in December 2024.