zinc greennoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zinc green mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zinc green. 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 zinc green?
| 1850 | 0.0004 |
| 1860 | 0.0005 |
| 1870 | 0.0014 |
| 1880 | 0.002 |
| 1890 | 0.0022 |
| 1900 | 0.0024 |
| 1910 | 0.0027 |
| 1920 | 0.003 |
| 1930 | 0.003 |
| 1940 | 0.0023 |
| 1950 | 0.0015 |
| 1960 | 0.0013 |
| 1970 | 0.0011 |
| 1980 | 0.0007 |
| 1990 | 0.0005 |
| 2000 | 0.0004 |
| 2010 | 0.0004 |
Where does the noun zinc green come from?
Earliest known use
1840s
The earliest known use of the noun zinc green is in the 1840s.
OED's earliest evidence for zinc green is from 1847, in British Pat. 11,616.
Nearby entries
- 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–
- zinc-foil, n.1851–
- zinc green, n.1847–
- zinc-grey | zinc-gray, n.1881–
- zincian, adj.1930–
- zincic, adj.1860–
- zinciferous, adj.1820–
- zincification, n.1891–
- zincify, v.1801–
- zinc-iron, n. & adj.1849–
- zincite, n.1854–
- zinckenite, n.1835–
- zinco, n.1887–
Meaning & use
- 1847–A mixture of zinc and cobalt oxides used as a pigment.
- 1847
Processes for manufacturing on a large scale zinc yellow..and zinc green.
British Pat. 11,616 5 - 1973
Much of the zinc yellow manufactured was mixed with Prussian blue to make various shades of a permanent zinc green.
E. Lalor in T. C. Patton, Pigment Handbook vol. I. 850/1
the world matter colour named colours green or greenness green colouring matter [nouns] pigment or dye- green1582–A green pigment or dye.
- zinc green1847–A mixture of zinc and cobalt oxides used as a pigment.
Frequency
zinc green typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zinc green is in frequency band 1, which contains words occurring fewer than 0.001 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zinc green, 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 | 0.0004 |
| 1860 | 0.0005 |
| 1870 | 0.0014 |
| 1880 | 0.002 |
| 1890 | 0.0022 |
| 1900 | 0.0024 |
| 1910 | 0.0027 |
| 1920 | 0.003 |
| 1930 | 0.003 |
| 1940 | 0.0023 |
| 1950 | 0.0015 |
| 1960 | 0.0013 |
| 1970 | 0.0011 |
| 1980 | 0.0007 |
| 1990 | 0.0005 |
| 2000 | 0.0004 |
| 2010 | 0.0004 |