Zincalonoun
Factsheet
What does the noun Zincalo mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun Zincalo. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun Zincalo?
| 1840 | 0.057 |
| 1850 | 0.053 |
| 1860 | 0.049 |
| 1870 | 0.048 |
| 1880 | 0.043 |
| 1890 | 0.038 |
| 1900 | 0.027 |
| 1910 | 0.025 |
| 1920 | 0.022 |
| 1930 | 0.019 |
| 1940 | 0.014 |
| 1950 | 0.0095 |
| 1960 | 0.0079 |
| 1970 | 0.0069 |
| 1980 | 0.007 |
| 1990 | 0.006 |
| 2000 | 0.0058 |
| 2010 | 0.0053 |
How is the noun Zincalo pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun Zincalo come from?
Earliest known use
1840s
The earliest known use of the noun Zincalo is in the 1840s.
OED's earliest evidence for Zincalo is from 1841, in the writing of George Borrow, writer and traveller.
Zincalo is of multiple origins. Either (i) a borrowing from Spanish Romani. Or (ii) a borrowing from Spanish.
Etymons: Spanish Romani zincalo; Spanish zingalo.
Nearby entries
- Zimbabwe, n.1891–
- Zimbabwean, adj. & n.1961–
- zimbel, n.1888–
- zimme, n.1848–63
- Zimmer, n.1951–
- zina, n.1817–
- zinc, n.1651–
- zinc, v.1843–
- zinc-air, adj.1970–
- Zincala, n.1844–91
- Zincalo, n.1841–
- zinc-alum, n.1851–
- zinc-amide, n.1859–
- zincate, n.1872–
- zinc-blende, n.1842–
- zinc-bloom, n.1842–
- zinc chloride, n.1851–
- zinc chromate, n.1851–
- zinc chrome, n.1892–
- zinc-dust, n.1877–
- zinc finger, n.1987–
Etymology
Summary
Notes
Meaning & use
- 1841–
- 1841
There was a time when the house of every Zincalo, however rich, was open to his brother, though he came to him naked.
G. Borrow, Zincali vol. I. ii. i. 234 - 1868
Before you dreamed You were a born Zincala—in the bonds Of the Zincali's faith.
‘G. Eliot’, Spanish Gypsy i. 137 - 1891
Miss Kennedy now informed us that on her mother's side she is one of that race..known as the Zincali or Spanish Gipsies.
Licensed Victuallers' Mirror 7 April 157 - 2011
Eliot also read and likely took notes on a number of works on the Zincali, the Gypsies of Spain.
Princeton University Library Chron. vol. 72 474
- gyptian1533–1874A member of a widely dispersed, traditionally itinerant people originating in South Asia and now found mainly in Europe and North and South…
- Egyptian1538–= Gypsy, n. & adj.
- Bohemian1574–A Gypsy, a member of the Romani people. Now rare (chiefly historical).
- Gypsy1574–Usually with capital initial. A member of a widely dispersed, traditionally itinerant people originating in South Asia and now found mainly in… Now sometimes considered derogatory or offensive, the term Gypsy has been steadily replaced in official contexts by Romani or (in plural) Roma. Nevertheless, Gypsy remains the most widely used term for this group among English-speakers. It is also sometimes used to refer to or include Travellers (see traveller, n. 2b.i), whose way of life is similar in certain respects. However, this usage is generally deprecated by members of both communities.
- tinker1575–British and Irish English. Chiefly derogatory. Any itinerant trader, performer, or beggar; spec. (esp. Scottish and Irish English) a Traveller…
- Zingani1581–1879With plural agreement. The Romani people; Gypsies collectively. Cf. zingana, n.¹, Zingaro, n.
- Zingaro1600–A member of the Romani people, a Gypsy; (in later use) esp. one from Italy. Cf. Zingara, n., Zingani, n. Now rare and sometimes considered offensive.
- moonman1608–cant. A Gypsy. Now historical.
- faw1756–A Gypsy, Traveller, or other person with an itinerant way of life.
- vagabond1756–A nomad. rare.
- Zingara1756–A Romani woman or girl. Cf. Zingaro, n., zingana, n.¹
- gitano1761–A Romani man or boy from Spain (esp. Andalusia); a male Spanish Gypsy. Cf. gitana, n.
- gitanac1770–A Romani woman or girl from Spain (esp. Andalusia); a female Spanish Gypsy. Cf. gitano, n.
- Roman1800–= Rom, n.²
- Romani1800–A member of a widely dispersed ethnic group, found mainly in Europe and North and South America, tracing its origins to South Asia; = Rom, n.² Cf…
- Tzigane1802–A member of the Romani people; a Gypsy, esp. one from central or eastern Europe, particularly Hungary. Now often considered offensive.
- Zigeuner1802–Esp. in German-speaking countries or in Hungary: a member of the Romani people, a Gypsy. Now rare and often considered offensive.
- Sinti1827–A Romani people of central and eastern Europe. Also occasionally as a count noun: a member of this people.
- piker1838–Chiefly English regional. derogatory. (A term of abuse for) a vagrant, tramp, or good-for-nothing; = pikey, n. & adj.¹
- pikey1838–Chiefly English regional (south-eastern) slang. derogatory. Now considered offensive. A traveller or Gypsy; a vagrant, a tramp; (hence more generally) a lower-class person, regarded as coarse or disreputable.
- Rom1841–A member of a widely dispersed ethnic group, found mainly in Europe and North and South America, tracing its origins to South Asia and speaking a…
- Zincalo1841–A Spanish Romani person (esp. a man or boy). Often in plural. Cf. gitano, n., Zincala, n.
- Romanichal1843–A member of a widely dispersed ethnic group, found mainly in Europe and North and South America, tracing its origins to South Asia; = Romani, n. A.1.
- Zincala1844–91A Romani woman or girl from Spain. Cf. gitana, n., Zincalo, n.
- Zigeunerin1845–83In German or German-speaking contexts: a Romani woman or girl.
- nomadian1847A nomad.
- Romanichal1851–spec. (usually in form Romany chal). A Romani boy or man. Cf. Romany chai, n. Now rare.
- Romany chai1851–A Romani girl or woman. Cf. Romanichal, n. A.2.
- didicoi1853–British (colloquial and regional). Now usually derogatory and offensive. A Gypsy, a member of the Romani people; (also) a member of any traditionally itinerant community; a Traveller. Sometimes (chiefly in Romani usage)…
- Bedouin1863–transferred. One who leads a Bedouin-like life elsewhere; a wanderer, an itinerant. (Cf. city Arab, n.)
- gyppo1868–Chiefly British. A member of the Romani people; a Gypsy. Now also in extended use: a poor or ill-kempt person. Now offensive and derogatory.
- zingana1883A Romani woman or girl. Cf. Zingani, n., Zingara, n.
- gyp1886–colloquial (sometimes considered offensive). A Gypsy; a member of the Romani people.
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. English
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
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
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
Inflections
Frequency
Zincalo typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
Zincalo 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 of Zincalo, n., 1840–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1840 | 0.057 |
| 1850 | 0.053 |
| 1860 | 0.049 |
| 1870 | 0.048 |
| 1880 | 0.043 |
| 1890 | 0.038 |
| 1900 | 0.027 |
| 1910 | 0.025 |
| 1920 | 0.022 |
| 1930 | 0.019 |
| 1940 | 0.014 |
| 1950 | 0.0095 |
| 1960 | 0.0079 |
| 1970 | 0.0069 |
| 1980 | 0.007 |
| 1990 | 0.006 |
| 2000 | 0.0058 |
| 2010 | 0.0053 |
Compounds & derived words
- Zincala, n. 1844–91A Romani woman or girl from Spain. Cf. gitana…