zaguannoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zaguan mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zaguan. 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 zaguan?
| 1850 | 0.0055 |
| 1860 | 0.0054 |
| 1870 | 0.0051 |
| 1880 | 0.0069 |
| 1890 | 0.0066 |
| 1900 | 0.0078 |
| 1910 | 0.0097 |
| 1920 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 0.0085 |
| 1960 | 0.0077 |
| 1970 | 0.0066 |
| 1980 | 0.005 |
| 1990 | 0.0047 |
| 2000 | 0.0047 |
| 2010 | 0.0046 |
How is the noun zaguan pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zaguan come from?
Earliest known use
1850s
The earliest known use of the noun zaguan is in the 1850s.
OED's earliest evidence for zaguan is from 1851, in Harper's Magazine.
zaguan is a borrowing from Spanish.
Nearby entries
- 'zackly | 'zactly, adv.1886–
- zad, n.1669–
- Zadokite, n. & adj.1910–
- zadruga, n.1887–
- zaffre | zaffer, n.1662–
- zaftig, adj.1921–
- zafu, n.1965–
- zag, n., adv., & v.1793–
- zagaie | zagaye, n.1590–1698
- Zaghlulist, n. & adj.1921–
- zaguan, n.1851–
- Zahal, n.1959–
- zaibatsu, n.1937–
- Zaidi, n.1709–
- zaikai, n.1968–
- zaim, n.1807–
- zaire, n.1967–
- Zairean, n. & adj.1972–
- Zairese, adj. & n.1974–
- Zairois, n. & adj.1973–
- zaitech, n.1986–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1851–The passage running from the front door to the central patio in houses in South and Central America and in the south-western U.S.
- 1851
Don Pedro was heard within, moving toward the ‘Saguan’.
Harper's Magazine September 465/2 - 1863
She had just seen Juanito's ghost in the saguan door.
Rio Abajo Press 28 April 1/2 - 1880
It was a long, narrowing perspective of arcades, lattices, balconies, zaguans, dormer windows, and blue sky.
G. W. Cable, Grandissimes xviii. 131 - 1921
There is the zaguan or vestibule at the outside, then the cancel or grating, and next the patio within.
Chambers's Journal March 258/1 - 1921
A couple of Moors—in the vestibule or zaguan—conduct a peculiar performance.
Chambers's Journal November 821/1 - 1927
Some stranger comes into the zaguan.
D. H. Lawrence, Mornings in Mexico 12
society inhabiting and dwelling inhabited place a building parts of building passage or corridor [nouns]- alley1363–1540A (private) corridor, hallway, or covered walkway. Obsolete (but cf. sense II.6c).
- tresance1428–1579A passage in or through a house; a corridor.
- passagea1525–A corridor giving access to the various rooms or divisions of a building, ship, etc., or running between two rooms; a gallery, lobby, or hall.
- close1530–Scottish. An entry, a passage; (typically) a narrow passage between buildings leading from a street to dwellings or other buildings at the back.
- gallery1541–A long narrow apartment, sometimes serving as a means of access to other parts of a house; a corridor.
- trance1545–A passage between buildings, or across between two streets; an entry, an alley, a close; also, a passage into, within, or through a house.
- through-passage1575–A passage through something; a route, channel, or corridor passing from one side of a place or structure to the other; a thoroughfare. Also: an…
- lobby1596–A passage or corridor connected with one or more apartments in a building, or attached to a large hall, theatre, or the like; often used as a…
- passageway?1606–A way or path by which a person or thing may pass through, in, or out; spec. a corridor or enclosed path giving access between buildings or to…
- conduit1624–1703Architecture. gen. A passage. Obsolete.
- gangway1702–A passage in a building or (later also) a passenger vehicle; spec. an aisle between rows of seats in a theatre, train, aircraft, etc.
- vista1708–An open corridor or long passage in or through a large building; an interior portion of a building affording a continuous view.
- glidec1710A passage; an avenue (of trees). Obsolete.
- aisle1734gen. A similar division of the main space of any building or room. In 18th-cent. use also: †a passage or corridor (obsolete).
- gallery1756–Architecture. A long narrow passage either made in the thickness of a wall, or supported on corbels, having its open side towards the interior of a…
- corridor1777–A long passage inside a building, with doors that give access into adjacent rooms. Also: a similar passage in a ship.
- traverse1822–Architecture. A gallery or loft linking parts of a large building.
- heck1825–(See quots.) northern dialect.
- rotunda1847–North American. The main hall of a public building, often one with a domed ceiling; a lobby; a concourse.
- scutchell1847–A narrow lane or passageway between buildings or hedges. Also: a narrow passage inside a house. Cf. twitchel, n.¹
- areaway1848–A sunken court giving access to the basement of a house (cf. area, n. I.i.2b); (also) an area serving as a passageway.
- zaguan1851–The passage running from the front door to the central patio in houses in South and Central America and in the south-western U.S.
- hall1857–Originally and chiefly U.S. A passageway within a building, typically giving access to various rooms by means of doors or stairs; a corridor. Cf. h…
- aisleway1868–= aisle, n. 3.
- pend1893–An arch, an archway; an arched or vaulted roof or canopy; the vaulted ground floor of a tower or fortified building; a covered passage or entry; (in…
- dogtrot1901–In the southern United States: an open-ended, usually broad, passage which runs through the centre of a house, flanked by two enclosed living spaces…
- fairway1903–A passageway, gangway, or thoroughfare.
- dog run1904–= dogtrot, n. 3.
- dog walk1938–= dogtrot, n. 3.
- walkout1947–North American. A doorway or passage providing outdoor access; access to an outside space.
- coulisse1949–A corridor; also figurative, as a place ‘behind the scenes’ (cf. corridor, n. 4).
Pronunciation
British English
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
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.
Forms
Variant forms
Also 1800s saguan.Frequency
zaguan typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zaguan 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 of zaguan, 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 | 0.0055 |
| 1860 | 0.0054 |
| 1870 | 0.0051 |
| 1880 | 0.0069 |
| 1890 | 0.0066 |
| 1900 | 0.0078 |
| 1910 | 0.0097 |
| 1920 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 0.0085 |
| 1960 | 0.0077 |
| 1970 | 0.0066 |
| 1980 | 0.005 |
| 1990 | 0.0047 |
| 2000 | 0.0047 |
| 2010 | 0.0046 |