zonalitynoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zonality mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zonality. 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 zonality?
| 1910 | 0.0063 |
| 1920 | 0.0076 |
| 1930 | 0.016 |
| 1940 | 0.024 |
| 1950 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 0.034 |
| 1970 | 0.036 |
| 1980 | 0.037 |
| 1990 | 0.041 |
| 2000 | 0.037 |
| 2010 | 0.03 |
Where does the noun zonality come from?
Earliest known use
1900s
The earliest known use of the noun zonality is in the 1900s.
OED's only evidence for zonality is from 1909, in Daily Chronicle.
Nearby entries
- zombified, adj.1965–
- zombify, v.1950–
- zombocalypse, n.2007–
- zomboid, adj.1963–
- zom-com, n.2004–
- zomotherapeutic, adj.1900–
- zomotherapy, n.1900–
- zona, n.1706–
- zona ignea, n.1818–
- zonal, adj.1867–
- zonality, n.1909–
- zonally, adv.1873–
- zonal marking, n.1958–
- zona pellucida, n.1841–
- zona radiata, n.1881–
- zona reticularis, n.1874–
- zonarious, adj.1656–
- zonary, adj.1881–
- zonate, adj.1866–
- zonated, adj.1803–
- zonation, n.1898–
Meaning & use
- 1909–Zonal character or distribution.Stressed as zoˈnality.
- 1909
The zonality of the flowers.
Daily Chronicle 21 March 3/5
- zonality1909–Zonal character or distribution.
Frequency
zonality typically occurs about 0.04 times per million words in modern written English.
zonality 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 of zonality, n., 1910–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1910 | 0.0063 |
| 1920 | 0.0076 |
| 1930 | 0.016 |
| 1940 | 0.024 |
| 1950 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 0.034 |
| 1970 | 0.036 |
| 1980 | 0.037 |
| 1990 | 0.041 |
| 2000 | 0.037 |
| 2010 | 0.03 |