zoophobia, n.

zoophobia
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zoophobia_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2017

# zoophobianoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zoophobia mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zoophobia. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the noun zoophobia?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1890 | 0.0011
1900 | 0.0019
1910 | 0.0024
1920 | 0.0027
1930 | 0.0032
1940 | 0.0038
1950 | 0.0042
1960 | 0.0045
1970 | 0.0042
1980 | 0.0038
1990 | 0.0037
2000 | 0.0035
2010 | 0.0033

### How is the noun zoophobia pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌzuːə(ʊ)ˈfəʊbiə/
zoo-oh-FOH-bee-uh
/ˌzəʊə(ʊ)ˈfəʊbiə/
zoh-oh-FOH-bee-uh

#### U.S. English

/ˌzoʊəˈfoʊbiə/
zoh-uh-FOH-bee-uh
/ˌzuəˈfoʊbiə/
zoo-uh-FOH-bee-uh

### Where does the noun zoophobia come from?

Earliest known use

1880s

The earliest known use of the noun zoophobia is in the 1880s.

OED's earliest evidence for zoophobia is from 1888, in American Journal of Psychology.

### Nearby entries

1. zoophagous, adj. 1788–
2. zoophagy, n. 1849–
3. zoophile, n. 1885–
4. zoophilia, n. 1894–
5. zoophilic, adj. 1884–
6. zoophilism, n. 1867–
7. zoophilist, n. 1829–
8. zoophilite, n. 1879–
9. zoophilous, adj. 1881–
10. zoophily, n. 1830–
11. zoophobia, n.1888–
12. zoophysical, adj. 1820–
13. zoophysics, n. 1887–
14. zoophysiology, n. 1803–
15. zoophytal, adj. 1756–
16. zoophyte, n. 1606–
17. zoophytic, adj. 1808–
18. zoophytical, adj. 1779–
19. zoophytish, adj. 1854–80
20. zoophytist, n. 1814–62
21. zoophytography, n. 1735–1905

## Meaning & use

1. 1888–
   Fear of or strong aversion to animals.
   1. 1888

      > Zoophobia was so intense that the sight of hens, cats, etc., caused pallor, tremor, etc.

      American Journal of Psychology vol. 1 356
   2. 1901

      > Experience of superior faculty awakens consciousness of superior power..and rends the shackles of zoöphobia.

      American Anthropologist vol. 3 12
   3. 2015

      > The tabby kitten was a quivering mass of fur and bones when my mother scooped her up from the roadside and brought her home. My sister, with her zoophobia, promptly locked herself inside the kitchen.

      Northlines (New Delhi, India) (Nexis) 2 October
   animals psychiatry
   1. zoophobia 1888–
      Fear of or strong aversion to animals.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. pneumatophobia 1678–
      Dread or abhorrence of the spiritual.
   2. hydrophobia 1760–
      In etymological sense: Dread or horror of water. Also figurative madness.
   3. aerophobia 1771–
      Dislike of fresh air; irrational fear of draughts. Now rare.
   4. panophobia 1784–
      A condition characterized by groundless fears or fear of everything; generalized anxiety; = pantophobia, n. Also: †sudden panic (obsolete).
   5. phobia 1786–
      A fear, horror, strong dislike, or aversion; esp. an extreme or irrational fear or dread aroused by a particular object or circumstance.
   6. papyrophobia 1790
      Fear of paper.
   7. pantophobia 1807–
      Originally: †hydrophobia (rabies) (obsolete). Later: a condition characterized by groundless or irrational fears; fear of everything; generalized…
   8. cynophobia 1827–
      Aversion to and dread of dogs.
   9. choleraphobia 1831–
      Extreme or irrational fear of contracting cholera (cholera, n. 4).
   10. necrophobia 1833–
       A horror of death or anything associated with death; esp. an extreme fear of dead bodies.
   11. phoby 1834–43
       With the. Hydrophobia.
   12. syphilomania 1838–
       The delusional belief or irrational fear that one is infected (or still infected) with syphilis. Cf. syphilophobia, n. Now historical.
   13. hippophobia 1840–
       Intense fear of or aversion to horses.
   14. phonophobia 1841–
       Fear of speaking; an instance of this. Now rare or disused.
   15. syphilophobia 1842–
       Irrational or excessive fear of becoming or being infected with syphilis; the delusional belief that one has syphilis; an instance of this. Cf. sy…
   16. scotophobia 1844–
       Fear or dislike of the dark. Also (Zoology and Bacteriology): movement away from darkness; preference for an illuminated environment.
   17. astrophobia 1855–
       †a. A fear of the influence of the stars (obsolete); b. a fear of lightning; = astraphobia, n.
   18. hypnophoby 1855–
       A morbid dread of falling asleep (New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon 1886).
   19. haematophobia 1857–
       = haemophobia, n. (Dunglison, 1857).
   20. pyrophobia 1858–
       Extreme fear of fire.
   21. sitomania 1859–
       a. Fear of eating or refusal to eat as a symptom of mental illness (cf. sitophobia, n.); b. excessive or compulsive consumption of food, esp. as a…
   22. sitophobia 1859–
       Fear of eating, refusal to eat, or aversion to food or certain foods, esp. as a symptom of mental or physical illness; cf. sitiophobia, n.
   23. thanatophobia 1860–
       Morbid fear of death.
   24. Satanophobia 1861–
       Extreme fear or dread of the Devil.
   25. batrachophobia 1863–
       Dread of or aversion to frogs, toads, newts, etc.
   26. panphobia 1870–
       = pantophobia, n.
   27. agoraphobia 1871–
       Fear of entering open or crowded places, of leaving one's own home, or of being in places from which escape is difficult; an anxiety disorder…
   28. bogeyphobia 1872–
       Dread of bogies.
   29. pathophobia 1873–
       Unwarranted concern about one's health, hypochondria; an instance of this.
   30. aquaphobia 1875–
       Aversion to, or fear of water; (now usually) fear of drowning in a body of water. Cf. hydrophobia, n.
   31. toxiphobia 1876–
       Fear of being poisoned, as a form of insanity or monomania.
   32. claustrophobia 1879–
       A morbid dread of confined places; also transferred.
   33. mysophobia 1879–
       Irrational fear of dirt or defilement.
   34. siderodromophobia 1879–
       Originally: = railway spine, n. In later use also: irrational fear of railways or railway travel.
   35. monophobia 1880–
       Fear of being alone.
   36. phthisiophobia 1883–
       An irrational or exaggerated fear of tuberculosis.
   37. sitiophobia 1884–
       Fear of eating, refusal to eat, or aversion to food or certain foods, as a symptom of mental or physical illness; cf. sitophobia, n.
   38. heliophobia 1885–
       Dread of or shrinking from sunlight, photophobia.
   39. ochlophobia 1885–
       Fear of or aversion to crowds.
   40. sitiomania 1887–
       †a. Fear of eating or refusal to eat, as a symptom of mental illness (cf. sitiophobia, n.) (obsolete rare); b. excessive or compulsive…
   41. acrophobia 1888–
       Fear of being in high places.
   42. zoophobia 1888–
       Fear of or strong aversion to animals.
   43. leprophobia 1889–
       Irrational or excessive fear of becoming or being infected with leprosy; fear or loathing of people with leprosy.
   44. nosophobia 1889–
       Excessive or irrational fear of disease.
   45. pamphobia 1890–92
       = panophobia, n.
   46. pediculophobia 1890–
       Dread of infestation with lice, accompanied by the delusional belief that one has such an infection.
   47. polyphobia 1890–
       Fear of many things.
   48. nyctophobia 1892–
       Extreme fear of the night or of darkness.
   49. bacteriophobia 1894–
       Irrational fear or dislike of bacteria.
   50. erythrophobia 1894–
       a. Fear of blushing; b. hypersensitivity to the colour red.
   51. tuberculophobia 1894–
       Irrational or excessive fear of becoming or being infected with tuberculosis; an instance of this.
   52. taeniiphobia 1897–
       Morbid fear of tapeworm.
   53. thalassophobia 1897–
       A morbid dread of the sea.
   54. topophobia 1899–
       A morbid dread of certain places.
   55. dysmorphophobia 1900–
       Originally: irrational fear of having or acquiring a flaw in one's physical appearance. Later: spec. = body dysmorphic disorder, n.
   56. musicophobia a1901–
       Hatred of music.
   57. akathisia 1903–
       Inability to sit down or to remain seated, resulting from a subjective need or desire to move, frequently accompanied by sensations of muscular…
   58. cremnophobia 1903–
       A morbid dread of precipices or steep places.
   59. anemophobia 1904–
       Fear of wind.
   60. ailurophobia 1905–
       Intense fear of or aversion to cats.
   61. brontophobia 1905–
       Combining form of Greek βροντή thunder, as in brontogram n. British English/ˈbrɒntə(ʊ)ɡram/ U.S. English/ˈbrɑn(t)əˌɡræm/ the record made by a…
   62. symbolophobia 1911–
       A morbid dread of having one's actions interpreted symbolically.
   63. phobism 1914–
       A morbid fear of or aversion to something; a phobia.
   64. arachnophobia 1925–
       Irrational fear of spiders.
   65. school phobia 1930–
       Excessive and apparently irrational anxiety about or fear of attending school.
   66. coprophobia 1934–
       An abnormal repugnance toward fæces.
   67. mycophobia 1957–
       Suspicion of or reluctance to eat mushrooms, toadstools, or other fungi.
   68. arachniphobia 1966–
       = arachnophobia, n.
   69. computer phobia 1972–
       Fear or mistrust of computer technology; an aversion to using computers, esp. apprehension or reluctance among novice users. Cf. cyberphobia, n.
   70. coulrophobia 1997–
       Extreme or irrational fear of clowns.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌzuːə(ʊ)ˈfəʊbiə/
zoo-oh-FOH-bee-uh
/ˌzəʊə(ʊ)ˈfəʊbiə/
zoh-oh-FOH-bee-uh

### U.S. English

/ˌzoʊəˈfoʊbiə/
zoh-uh-FOH-bee-uh
/ˌzuəˈfoʊbiə/
zoo-uh-FOH-bee-uh

####

##### 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

## Frequency

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

zoophobia 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 zoophobia, n., 1890–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1890 | 0.0011
1900 | 0.0019
1910 | 0.0024
1920 | 0.0027
1930 | 0.0032
1940 | 0.0038
1950 | 0.0042
1960 | 0.0045
1970 | 0.0042
1980 | 0.0038
1990 | 0.0037
2000 | 0.0035
2010 | 0.0033

Originally published as part of the entry for zoo-, comb. form

zoo-, comb. form was revised in June 2017.