zygosphene, n.

zygosphene
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zygosphene_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zygosphenenoun

## Earlier version

- zygosphene in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zygosphene mean?

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

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1850 | 0.0069
1860 | 0.0067
1870 | 0.0062
1880 | 0.0062
1890 | 0.0058
1900 | 0.006
1910 | 0.0046
1920 | 0.0035
1930 | 0.0032
1940 | 0.0031
1950 | 0.0024
1960 | 0.0023
1970 | 0.002
1980 | 0.0023
1990 | 0.0024
2000 | 0.0022
2010 | 0.002

### How is the noun zygosphene pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzʌɪɡəʊsfiːn/
/ˈzɪɡəʊsfiːn/

### Where does the noun zygosphene come from?

Earliest known use

1850s

The earliest known use of the noun zygosphene is in the 1850s.

OED's earliest evidence for zygosphene is from 1854, in the writing of Richard Owen, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.

zygosphene is a borrowing from Greek.

Etymons: Greek ζυγόν, σϕήν.

### Nearby entries

1. zygophore, n. 1904–
2. zygophyllaceous, adj. 1887–
3. zygophyte, n. 1885–
4. zygopleura, n. 1883–
5. zygopterid, n. & adj. 1900–
6. zygosis, n. 1880–
7. zygosity, n. 1952–
8. zygosome, n. 1905–
9. zygosperm, n. 1880–
10. zygosphenal, adj. 1854–
11. zygosphene, n.1854–
12. zygosphere, n. 1880–
13. zygospondyline, adj. 1892–
14. zygospore, n. 1864–
15. zygosporic, adj. 1906–
16. zygostat, n. 1623
17. zygostatical, adj. 1656
18. zygostyle, n. 1881–
19. zygote, n. 1891–
20. zygotene, n. 1911–
21. zygotic, adj. 1909–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Greek.
Etymons: Greek ζυγόν, σϕήν.
< Greek ζυγόν yoke + σϕήν wedge.

## Meaning & use

Anatomy and Zoology.

1. 1854–
   A double wedge-shaped projection on the anterior side of the neural side of each ordinary vertebra in serpents and some lizards, which fits into the zygantrum of the next vertebra.
   1. 1854

      > A wedge~shaped process (the ‘zygosphene’)..is developed from the fore part of the base of the spine.

      R. Owen, Structure of Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle of Sciences: Organic Nature vol. I. 196
   2. 1892

      > The zygosphenes and zygantra of the Ophidian vertebræ.

      Proceedings of Zoological Society 1 March 176
   animals anatomy
   1. anteocular 1848–
      An anteocular structure; esp. = preocular, n. Now rare.
   2. zygantrum 1854–
      A double cavity on the posterior side of the neural arch of each ordinary vertebra in serpents and some lizards, into which the zygosphene of the…
   3. zygosphene 1854–
      A double wedge-shaped projection on the anterior side of the neural side of each ordinary vertebra in serpents and some lizards, which fits into the…
   4. preocular 1859–
      Zoology. In a snake or lizard: a scale situated immediately in front of the eye.
   5. occipital 1890
      Zoology. Either of a pair of plates on the occipital region in certain snakes. Obsolete. rare.
   6. hemipenis 1909–
      One of the paired eversible copulatory organs in snakes and lizards.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzʌɪɡəʊsfiːn/
/ˈzɪɡəʊsfiːn/

####

##### 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.

## Frequency

zygosphene typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zygosphene 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 zygosphene, n., 1850–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1850 | 0.0069
1860 | 0.0067
1870 | 0.0062
1880 | 0.0062
1890 | 0.0058
1900 | 0.006
1910 | 0.0046
1920 | 0.0035
1930 | 0.0032
1940 | 0.0031
1950 | 0.0024
1960 | 0.0023
1970 | 0.002
1980 | 0.0023
1990 | 0.0024
2000 | 0.0022
2010 | 0.002

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zygosphenal, adj. 1854–
   Belonging to or constituting a zygosphene.

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

zygosphene, n. was last modified in December 2024.