zos-grass, n.

zos-grass
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zos-grass_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# zos-grassnoun

## Earlier version

- zos-grass in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zos-grass mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zos-grass. 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 is the noun zos-grass pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɒsɡrɑːs/
ZOSS-grahss
/ˈzɒsɡras/
ZOSS-grass

#### U.S. English

/ˈzɑsˌɡræs/
ZAHSS-grass

### Where does the noun zos-grass come from?

Earliest known use

1930s

The earliest known use of the noun zos-grass is in the 1930s.

OED's earliest evidence for zos-grass is from 1937, in the writing of J. W. Day.

zos-grass is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: zostera n., grass n.1

### Nearby entries

1. zorgite, n. 1852–
2. zori, n.?1823–
3. zoril, n. 1774–
4. Zoroastrian, adj. & n. 1597–
5. Zoroastrianism, n. 1832–
6. Zoroastrianize, v. 1891–
7. Zoroastric, adj. a1739–
8. Zoroastrism, n. 1819–
9. zorrino, n. 1885–
10. zorro, n. 1838–
11. zos-grass, n.1937–
12. zoster, n. 1601–
13. zostera, n. 1819–
14. zosterops, n. 1867–
15. Zouave, n. 1848–
16. zouk, n. 1986–
17. zounds, v. 1680
18. zounds, int. a1593–
19. Zou-Zou, n. 1860–
20. zowie, int. 1902–
21. zoysia, n. 1965–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by compounding.
Etymons: zostera n., grass n.1
Abbreviation of zos- (in zostera n.) + grass n.1

## Meaning & use

1. 1937–
   = zostera n.
   1. 1937

      > Five ducks come out of the sunset and swing low above me out to the muds and bared zos grass.

      J. W. Day, Sporting Adventure 129
   2. 1974

      > They [sc. brent geese] cleared the mud-flats of the zos-grass, their natural feed.

      Times 9 March 14/1
   plants
   1. sweet-grass 1577–
      Any kind of grass (or herb called ‘grass’) of a sweet taste serving as fodder; spec. a book-name for the genus Glyceria; also locally, the woodruff, A…
   2. grass wrack 1633–
      A common seagrass native to coastal waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, Zostera marina, having long, thin, grass-like leaves.
   3. grass weed 1658–
      a. (More fully sea grass weed) any of several seagrasses or aquatic plants; spec. grass wrack, Zostera marina; b. any of various plants which…
   4. eel-grass 1790–
      A plant with long narrow leaves: (a) = grass wrack, n.; (b) = tape-grass, n.; (c) figurative.
   5. zostera 1819–
      A marine plant of the genus so named, esp. grasswrack, Z. marina.
   6. sea-wrack grass 1836–
      Zostera marina.
   7. wigeon grass 1857–
      (Chiefly in form widgeon grass) (originally) a type of seagrass growing along the coastlines of North America and Eurasia, Zostera marina (family Z…
   8. sea-grass 1858–
      One of various plants and seaweeds growing in the sea: (a) a pondweed, Ruppia maritima; (b) the eel-grass or grass-wrack, Zostera marina; also, the…
   9. wigeon weed 1893–
      (Chiefly in form widgeon weed) = wigeon grass, n.
   10. zos-grass 1937–
       = zostera, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɒsɡrɑːs/
ZOSS-grahss
/ˈzɒsɡras/
ZOSS-grass

### U.S. English

/ˈzɑsˌɡræs/
ZAHSS-grass

####

##### 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

zos-grass, n. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

zos-grass, n. was last modified in July 2023.