ZPG, n.

zpg
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zpg_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# ZPGnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun ZPG mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun ZPG. 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 ZPG?

About 0.06occurrences per million words in modern written English

1970 | 0.067
1980 | 0.059
1990 | 0.059
2000 | 0.059
2010 | 0.043

### Where does the noun ZPG come from?

Earliest known use

1970s

The earliest known use of the noun ZPG is in the 1970s.

OED's earliest evidence for ZPG is from 1970, in New York Times.

### Nearby entries

1. zoster, n. 1601–
2. zostera, n. 1819–
3. zosterops, n. 1867–
4. Zouave, n. 1848–
5. zouk, n. 1986–
6. zounds, v. 1680
7. zounds, int. a1593–
8. Zou-Zou, n. 1860–
9. zowie, int. 1902–
10. zoysia, n. 1965–
11. ZPG, n.1970–
12. Zr, n. 1814–
13. zubr, n. 1763–
14. zubrowka, n. 1916–
15. zucarine, adj. a1425
16. zucca, n. 1818–
17. zucchetto, n. 1853–
18. zucchini, n. 1916–
19. zuche, n. 1358–1676
20. Zuckerkandl, n. 1910–
21. zufolo, n. 1724–

## Meaning & use

1. 1970–
   Zero population growth.
   1. 1970

      > Of all the cries that have arisen, perhaps none is quite so superficially appealing, or so profound in its long-range social and economic implications, as zero population growth—‘ZPG’ in the slogans of the day.

      New York Times 3 June 61/6
   2. 1978

      > This may have reduced the maximum possible number of children per female to around five, and it does not then require harsh assumptions about mortality rates to end up with ZPG.

      Nature 6 April 491/3
   ecology
   1. zero population growth 1955–
      The absence of any increase (or decrease) in a population over a period of time; abbreviated ZPG.
   2. ZPG 1970–
      Zero population growth.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

ZPG typically occurs about 0.06 times per million words in modern written English.

ZPG 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 ZPG, n., 1970–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1970 | 0.067
1980 | 0.059
1990 | 0.059
2000 | 0.059
2010 | 0.043

Originally published as part of the entry for Z, n.

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