Zulu time, n.

zulu-time
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zulu-time_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2023

# Zulu timenoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zulu time mean?

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

### Where does the noun Zulu time come from?

Earliest known use

1950s

The earliest known use of the noun Zulu time is in the 1950s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zulu time is from 1959, in Flying Safety.

### Nearby entries

1. zug, n. 1899–
2. zugtrompete, n. 1978–
3. Zugunruhe, n. 1950–
4. Zugzwang, n. 1904–
5. zule | zulis, n. 1780–
6. Zulu, n. & adj. 1824–
7. Zulu, v. 1882–
8. Zuludom, n. 1867–
9. Zulu hat, n. 1879–
10. Zuluize, v. 1852–
11. Zulu time, n.1959–
12. zumbador, n. 1758–64
13. zumbi, n. 1704–
14. zumboorukchee, n. 1840–
15. Zuñi, n. 1834–
16. zunyite, n. 1885–
17. zuppa, n. 1961–
18. Zurich, n. 1870–
19. Zuricher, n. 1673–
20. zurla, n. 1940–
21. zurlite, n. 1826–

## Meaning & use

1. 1959–
   (An informal name for) Greenwich Mean Time, and (subsequently) Universal Time; cf. Zulu n. A.5b.
   1. 1959

      > So if he has to use Zulu time, then let him follow it up with the time also in local zonal time.

      Flying Safety March 1/1
   2. 1981

      > Projected detonation deadline at fourteen-hundred hours, Zulu Time.

      T. Barling, Bikini Red North xii. 260
   3. 2022

      > Stay on schedule with a UTC hand on the watch face, which can also display and help pilots manage multiple time zones, including Zulu time.

      Impact Financial News (Nexis) 9 February
   1. time 1646–
      Science. With preceding distinguishing word. A particular system of measuring or reckoning the length of the day and hence the passage of time.
   2. apparent time 1694–
      = apparent solar time at solar time, n. 2(a).
   3. local time a1703–
      (Originally) time at a particular place reckoned from the instant of transit of the mean sun over the meridian at that place (which defines noon)…
   4. solar time 1714–
      A time of day or point in time, calculated with reference to the position of the sun; spec. (a) a time as calculated with reference to the position…
   5. ship time 1778–
      Canadian. The time at which an annual supply ship arrives in port, typically after river ice has melted or broken up in the summer. Now chiefly histo…
   6. Greenwich Mean Time 1782–
      Mean solar time at the Greenwich meridian, internationally recognized as a standard time; abbreviated GMT.
   7. standard time 1809–
      A standard system of reckoning time adopted throughout a country or region, now based on the time zone in which it is situated; the time as…
   8. sun time 1837–
      Time determined with reference to the position of the sun, solar time; esp. time as calculated by the apparent motion of the sun (i.e. as shown on…
   9. GMT 1840–
      = Greenwich Mean Time n. at Greenwich, n. I.1c.
   10. railway time 1847–
       A standard time adopted throughout a railway system to supersede local time for the purposes of railway operations.
   11. railroad time 1849–
       = railway time, n.
   12. Greenwich time 1861–
       Time by the sun at the Greenwich meridian; spec. = Greenwich Mean Time n. at sense I.1c.
   13. Eastern time 1878–
       a. North American = Eastern Standard Time, n. (a); b. Australian = Eastern Standard Time, n. (b); also more fully Australian Eastern Time…
   14. Pacific time 1880–
       = Pacific Standard Time, n.
   15. Universal Time 1882–
       An internationally accepted standard time corresponding to mean solar time at the Greenwich meridian, calculated from midnight as zero; spec. (more…
   16. central standard time 1883–
       a. North American the standard time in a zone including most of Mexico and central parts of the United States and Canada, based on the mean solar…
   17. central time 1883–
       a. North American = central standard time, n. (a); b. Australian= Australian Central Standard Time, n..
   18. Eastern Standard Time 1883–
       a. North American the standard time in a zone including Ontario, Quebec, and the east coast region of the United States, based on the mean solar…
   19. Mountain time 1883–
       The time based on the mean solar time of the 105th meridian, esp. = Mountain Standard Time, n.; (also) the zone of Mountain Standard Time.
   20. Central European Time 1891–
       The standard time in a zone including most of western and central continental Europe, one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; abbreviated CET.
   21. Eastern European time 1892–
       The standard time in a zone including much of eastern Europe, two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; abbreviated EET.
   22. British Standard Time 1908–
       a. = Greenwich Mean Time n. at Greenwich, n. I.1c (now disused); b. the standard time used experimentally in the United Kingdom from 18 February…
   23. daylight saving 1908–
       A method of securing longer evening daylight during the summer by setting the clocks ahead of standard time, typically by one hour; the period…
   24. daylight saving time 1908–
       Time as adjusted during the summer to achieve longer evening daylight, by setting the clocks ahead of standard time, typically by one hour; the…
   25. zone time 1908–
       Mean solar time at the standard meridian on which the local time zone is based, taken as the standard time throughout the zone (cf. Zulu, n. &…
   26. LMT 1909–
       Local mean time.
   27. British Summer Time 1916–
       The daylight saving time used in the United Kingdom, one hour in advance of GMT (UTC), and in force in the summer months of most years since it was…
   28. GMAT 1916–
       Greenwich Mean Astronomical Time, the mean solar time on the Greenwich meridian, with noon taken as the beginning of each day; cf. GMT, n.
   29. summertime 1916–
       Chiefly as two words, and frequently with capital initials, as Summer Time. The standard time (one hour in advance of ordinary time) adopted in…
   30. Eastern Daylight Time 1921–
       The daylight saving time used in the zone observing Eastern standard time, four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time; abbreviated EDT.
   31. U.T. 1929–
       Universal Time.
   32. B.S.T. 1930–
       British Summer Time; (from 1968) British Standard Time.
   33. EST 1935–
       = Eastern Standard Time, n. (in both senses).
   34. atomic time 1937–
       Time as measured by atomic clocks; spec. (more fully International Atomic Time) an internationally accepted time scale now based on the weighted…
   35. British Double Summer Time 1941–
       The daylight saving time used in the United Kingdom under emergency regulations, two hours ahead of GMT (UTC), and in force in the summer months…
   36. wartime 1942–
       In form war time. In the United States: a form of year-round daylight saving time introduced during World War II. Now historical.
   37. B.D.S.T. 1943–
       British Double Summer Time.
   38. ephemeris time 1950–
       ephemeris time n. a uniform time scale used in astronomy, defined in terms of the orbital motions of the moon and planets and taking as the…
   39. Zulu time 1959–
       (An informal name for) Greenwich Mean Time, and (subsequently) Universal Time; cf. Zulu, n. A.5b.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

Originally published as part of the entry for Zulu, n. & adj.

Zulu, n. & adj. was revised in March 2023.