zimme, n.

zimme
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zimme_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2021

# † zimmenoun

## Earlier version

- zimme in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zimme mean?

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

This word is now obsolete. It is last recorded around the 1860s.

### Where does the noun zimme come from?

Earliest known use

1840s

The earliest known use of the noun zimme is in the 1840s.

OED's earliest evidence for zimme is from 1848, in the writing of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, writer and politician.

zimme is a variant or alteration of another lexical item.

Etymons: English ȝimme, gem n.1

### Nearby entries

1. Zil lane, n. 1985–
2. zilla parishad, n. 1957–
3. zillion, n. & adj. 1920–
4. zillionaire, n. 1926–
5. zillionth, n. & adj. 1940–
6. zimb, n. 1790–
7. Zimba, n. 1625–
8. Zimbabwe, n. 1891–
9. Zimbabwean, adj. & n. 1961–
10. zimbel, n. 1888–
11. zimme, n.1848–63
12. Zimmer, n. 1951–
13. zina, n. 1817–
14. zinc, n. 1651–
15. zinc, v. 1843–
16. zinc-air, adj. 1970–
17. Zincala, n. 1844–91
18. Zincalo, n. 1841–
19. zinc-alum, n. 1851–
20. zinc-amide, n. 1859–
21. zincate, n. 1872–

## Etymology

### Summary

A variant or alteration of another lexical item.
Etymons: English ȝimme, gem n.1
Erroneously < Middle English ȝimme, variant of gem n.1, with misreading of ȝ as z (see the discussion at Z n.…
Erroneously < Middle English ȝimme, variant of gem n.1, with misreading of ȝ as z (see the discussion at Z n.).

### Notes

Probably understood by Bulwer-Lytton to be Old English, as he only employs the word in historical use in a work set in pre-Conquest England.

## Meaning & use

Obsolete. pseudo-archaic. rare.

1. 1848–63
   A jewel, a gem.
   1. 1848

      > Taking from his own neck a collar of zimmes..of great price.

      E. Bulwer-Lytton, Harold vol. I. ii. iii. 135
   2. 1848

      > His diadem, with the three zimmes shaped into a triple trefoil.

      E. Bulwer-Lytton, Harold vol. I. iii. ii. 147
   3. 1863

      > 338 A fay-born, grotesque isle..Peeps like king-jewel in a carcanet, Embossed with zimmes and shells of quaint design.

      W. H. A. in J. A. Chapman, Hist. Edgefield County (1897) 338
   archaic
   1. gem Old English–
      A precious stone of any kind, esp. when cut and polished for ornament; a jewel.
   2. gemstone Old English–1290
      In Old English and Middle English = gem, n.¹ 1. Also figurative.
   3. stone Old English–
      A precious stone: see precious, adj. A.2 spec. in South African usage: a diamond.
   4. perry a1300–1440
      A precious stone, a jewel; a pearl. Also figurative.
   5. precious stone c1300–
      A stone of a kind prized for its beauty, hardness, or rarity and used in ornamentation or jewellery; a gemstone, a jewel.
   6. jewel a1400–
      A precious stone, esp. when cut and polished; a gem. Also: a precious or semi-precious stone mounted to be worn as an ornament or item of…
   7. regal c1426–1631
      A type of precious stone. Frequently figurative or in figurative contexts. Obsolete.
   8. precious pier c1450
      A stone. franche pier n. Obsolete a block of building stone. precious pier n. Obsolete a precious stone.
   9. margarite a1500–1628
      Any precious or semi-precious stone. Obsolete.
   10. lapidary 1509–1609
       collective. Precious stones in general; jewellery. Obsolete.
   11. zimme 1848–63
       A jewel, a gem.
   12. hardstone 1853–
       spec. A semi-precious stone of a hard consistency used for small-scale carving or decorative work (cf. pietra dura, n.); (also) an object made of…
   13. shiner 1884–
       A diamond or other jewel. Usually plural. slang.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

zimme, n. was revised in March 2021.

zimme, n. was last modified in July 2023.