zebra-like, adj.

zebra-like
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zebra-like_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zebra-likeadjective

## Factsheet

### Where does the adjective zebra-like come from?

Earliest known use

late 1700s

The earliest known use of the adjective zebra-like is in the late 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for zebra-like is from 1772, in Philosophical Transactions 1771.

### How common is the adjective zebra-like?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1810 | 0.0016
1820 | 0.0023
1830 | 0.0039
1840 | 0.005
1850 | 0.0072
1860 | 0.0095
1870 | 0.012
1880 | 0.014
1890 | 0.014
1900 | 0.014
1910 | 0.013
1920 | 0.011
1930 | 0.0094
1940 | 0.0073
1950 | 0.0058
1960 | 0.0047
1970 | 0.0042
1980 | 0.0039
1990 | 0.0036
2000 | 0.0034
2010 | 0.0036

### Nearby entries

1. zeaxanthin, n. 1929–
2. Zebedist, n. 1574
3. zebra, n. 1597–
4. zebra caterpillar, n. 1841–
5. zebra crossing, n. 1934–
6. zebra danio, n. 1917–
7. zebraed, adj. 1806–
8. zebra finch, n. 1868–
9. zebrafish, n. 1771–
10. zebraic, adj. 1858–
11. zebra-like, adj.1772–
12. zebra marking, n. 1854–
13. zebra moray, n. 1933–
14. zebra mule, n. 1841–
15. zebra mussel, n. 1866–
16. zebrano, n. 1908–
17. zebra opossum, n. 1808–
18. zebra parakeet, n. 1856–
19. zebra plant, n. 1826–
20. zebra poison, n. 1871–74
21. zebra print, n. & adj. 1932–

## Meaning & use

1. 1772–
   See zebra n.
   Stressed as ˈzebra-like.
   1. 1772

      > The ears..are white on their edge, and on their inside; except where two black bands mark the hollow of the ear with a zebra-like variety.

      Philosophical Transactions 1771 (Royal Society) vol. 61 174
   2. 1872

      > Certain most brilliant fish, covered with zebra-like stripes of green and pink.

      Daily Telegraph 11 January
   3. 2011

      > Frequently, altered rocks display a zebra-like pattern of rhythmic banding.

      W. L. Pohl, Econ. Geology i. i. 51/2

## Frequency

zebra-like typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zebra-like 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 zebra-like, adj., 1810–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1810 | 0.0016
1820 | 0.0023
1830 | 0.0039
1840 | 0.005
1850 | 0.0072
1860 | 0.0095
1870 | 0.012
1880 | 0.014
1890 | 0.014
1900 | 0.014
1910 | 0.013
1920 | 0.011
1930 | 0.0094
1940 | 0.0073
1950 | 0.0058
1960 | 0.0047
1970 | 0.0042
1980 | 0.0039
1990 | 0.0036
2000 | 0.0034
2010 | 0.0036

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

zebra, n. was revised in June 2018.