Zepp, n.

zepp
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zepp_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2014

# Zeppnoun

## Earlier version

- Zep, n. and v. in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zepp mean?

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

Zepp has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

aviation (1910s) food and cooking (1910s)

### How common is the noun Zepp?

About 0.03occurrences per million words in modern written English

1910 | 0.031
1920 | 0.028
1930 | 0.026
1940 | 0.025
1950 | 0.024
1960 | 0.026
1970 | 0.025
1980 | 0.028
1990 | 0.029
2000 | 0.032
2010 | 0.036

### How is the noun Zepp pronounced?

#### British English

/zɛp/
zep

#### U.S. English

/zɛp/
zep

### Where does the noun Zepp come from?

Earliest known use

1910s

The earliest known use of the noun Zepp is in the 1910s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zepp is from 1914, in Indiana (Pennsylvania) Evening Gazette.

It is also recorded as a verb from the 1910s.

Zepp is formed within English, by clipping or shortening.

Etymons: Zeppelin n.

### Nearby entries

1. zephyr flower, n.?1829–
2. zephyr-gale, n. 1596–1901
3. zephyrian, adj. 1661–
4. zephyrine, adj. & n. 1819–
5. zephyring, adj. 1821–
6. zephyrless, adj. a1821–
7. zephyr-like, adv. & adj. 1765–
8. zephyr lily, n.?1877–
9. zephyrous, adj. a1750–
10. zephyry, adj. 1791–
11. Zepp, n.1914–
12. Zepp, v. 1914–
13. Zeppelin, n. 1896–
14. zeppelin, v. 1910–
15. Zeppelined, adj. 1915–
16. Zeppelining, n. 1915–
17. Zeppelinist, n. 1912–
18. Zeppelinistic, adj. 1930–
19. Zeppelinite, n. 1909–
20. zeppole, n. 1835–
21. zepto-, comb. form

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by clipping or shortening.
Shortened < Zeppelin n.

Compare Zepp v.

## Meaning & use

colloquial (now chiefly in historical contexts).

1. 1.
   1914–
   = Zeppelin n. 1.
   1. [1910

      > Zep's Balloon Burns... Count Zeppelin's large, dirigible balloon, Zeppelin VI, took fire today following an explosion and burned.

      Beatrice (Nebraska) Daily Sun 15 September 1/4]
   2. 1914

      > Do you really think any of the ‘Zepps’ will ever reach London? I don't, for one, for there are searchlights and guns at different intervals along the coast.

      Indiana (Pennsylvania) Evening Gazette 23 November 2/3
   3. 1916

      > The night those Zeps bombarded town.

      J. Pope, Simple Rhymes 40
   4. 1916

      > A hostile raiding ‘Zepp.’

      Times Literary Supplement 27 January 40/3
   5. 1931

      > The most interesting feature of our trip was a personally escorted tour of the entire Zep whilst crossing over France.

      Flight 28 August 855/1
   6. 1993

      > We seed one Zepp, agen Birnigum, a big silver hull of a ‘boat’ in the moonlight.

      S. Stewart, Ramlin Rose iv. 31
   aviation colloquial and slang
   1. ship 1664–
      A navigated vehicle which flies. Any of various aircraft or airborne machines (real or imaginary). Now esp. (chiefly Military): an aeroplane or…
   2. airship 1817–
      Originally: any of various aircraft or machines for flying (now rare). Now usually: spec. a dirigible, esp. one having a rigid elongated structure…
   3. air sailor 1834–
      a. A balloonist; an aeronaut; b. a hot-air balloon, an airship.
   4. navigable 1882–
      A navigable balloon or airship; a dirigible. Now rare (historical).
   5. dirigible 1885–
      A dirigible balloon or airship. Also transferred. (Cf. French dirigeable n.)
   6. Zeppelin 1896–
      In full Zeppelin airship. A large German dirigible airship of the early 20th cent., long and cylindrical in shape and with a rigid framework. Also…
   7. aeronat 1903–
      An airship, a dirigible.
   8. steerable 1908–
      A dirigible balloon. rare.
   9. Zepp 1914–
      = Zeppelin, n. 1.
   10. vessel 1915–
       An airship or hovercraft.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1915–
   = Zeppelin n. 2. Usually in Zepps in a cloud and variants.
   1. 1915

      > Aircraft Expert (whose fancy dictates sausages and mashed): Now then, Charlie, come on, pop about! Two Zepps an' a cloud!

      Tatler 17 March 4
   2. 1931

      > I'll bring yer a spot o' coffee and a couple o' Zepps in a smoke screen.

      M. Allingham, Look to Lady i. 22
   3. 1940

      > The coffee-stall..can supply on demand..not only sandwiches, but pies, tarts, biscuits, sausage rolls, eggs, ‘Zepps in a cloud’, chips.

      Life & Letters February 153
   4. 1979

      > Canteen food wasn't bad—‘two Zepps in a cloud’ sausages and mash to you for tuppence ha'penny, mince and mash tuppence, beans a penny.

      R. Billington, Woman's Age iii. 82
   food and cooking colloquial and slang
   1. pudding 1287–
      The stomach or one of the entrails (in early use sometimes the neck) of a pig, sheep, or other animal, stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, suet…
   2. saucister 1347–1500
      A sausage.
   3. sauserling 1475–1570
      A sausage.
   4. pot a1500–
      A sausage; a black pudding. Now rare (English regional (south-western)).
   5. sausage a1500–
      In the original use, a quantity of finely chopped pork, beef, or other meat, spiced and flavoured, enclosed in a short length of the intestine of…
   6. gigot 1553–1656
      A minced meat, a sausage. Obsolete.
   7. ising c1560–1706
      A kind of ‘pudding’; a sausage: see quots.
   8. gut-pudding 1697–1722
      A sausage.
   9. small goods 1716–
      Small items of merchandise. Cf. good, n. B.III.10a.
   10. jegget 1736
   11. German duck 1785–1890
       a. A dish of sheepshead and onions; b. a sausage.
   12. pud 1828–
       = pudding, n. I.1, I.2. Cf. poke pud, n. Now rare.
   13. dog 1891–
       slang. Usually in plural. In early use: a sausage (see quot. 1948). Later (chiefly U.S.): short for hot dog, n. A.1b.
   14. Zepp 1915–
       = Zeppelin, n. 2. Usually in Zepps in a cloud and variants.
   15. Zeppelin 1915–
       slang (chiefly Military in early use). A sausage. Usually in Zeppelins in a cloud and variants: sausage and mash. Cf. Zepp, n. 2.
   16. wors 1923–
       A sausage; (as a mass noun) sausage meat. Also attributive, as worsmonger, wors roll, etc.
   17. snag 1927–
       A sausage.
   18. snorker 1935–
       Originally Australian and Navy slang. A sausage.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɛp/
zep

### U.S. English

/zɛp/
zep

####

##### 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

#### 1.

1. 1900s–
   Zep, Zepp

#### 2. Also with lower-case initial.

## Frequency

Zepp typically occurs about 0.03 times per million words in modern written English.

Zepp 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 Zepp, 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 | 0.031
1920 | 0.028
1930 | 0.026
1940 | 0.025
1950 | 0.024
1960 | 0.026
1970 | 0.025
1980 | 0.028
1990 | 0.029
2000 | 0.032
2010 | 0.036

## Compounds & derived words

1. 1914–
   General attributive (in sense 1), esp. in Zepp raid.
   1. 1914

      > London's growing apprehension of a Zep raid ought to open up a good market for Kansas' banner crop of cyclone cellars.

      Washington Post 7 December 6/3
   2. 1915

      > The spot where a Zep. Bomb fell in a cross-roads.

      W. Owen, Letter 12 June (1967) 338
   3. 1916

      > We had a lovely Zepp raid the other night.

      R. Mountfort, Letter 5 September in Great War Letters (2009) 109
   4. 1919

      > We're exceedingly preoccupied with the war—Zepp. raids and things.

      C. Orr, Glorious Thing ii. 20
   5. 1986

      > ‘No zepp attacks,’ Blanche said, a note of disappointment in her voice.

      B. Carter, Jack xxxiv. 295
   6. 2002

      > Ever since that night when she'd been in London during the Zepp raid she'd not been herself.

      J. Toombs, Nightingale Man xi. 98
   colloquial and slang

Zepp, n. was revised in June 2014.

Zepp, n. was last modified in December 2024.