zinc-ironnoun & adjective
Factsheet
What does the word zinc-iron mean?
There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the word zinc-iron. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, 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 word zinc-iron?
| 1840 | 0.0027 |
| 1850 | 0.003 |
| 1860 | 0.0035 |
| 1870 | 0.0047 |
| 1880 | 0.0059 |
| 1890 | 0.0076 |
| 1900 | 0.0096 |
| 1910 | 0.011 |
| 1920 | 0.013 |
| 1930 | 0.013 |
| 1940 | 0.012 |
| 1950 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 0.0087 |
| 1970 | 0.0069 |
| 1980 | 0.0051 |
| 1990 | 0.0038 |
| 2000 | 0.0031 |
| 2010 | 0.0032 |
Where does the word zinc-iron come from?
Earliest known use
1840s
The earliest known use of the word zinc-iron is in the 1840s.
OED's earliest evidence for zinc-iron is from 1849, in the writing of Henry Minchin Noad, electrician.
Nearby entries
- 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–
- zinco-, comb. form
- zincode, n.1839–
- zincograph, n.1888–
- zincograph, v.1865–
- zincographer, n.1839–
- zincographic, adj.1850–
- zincography, n.1834–
Meaning & use
- 1849–a. n. An alloy of zinc and iron; b. adj. consisting of zinc and iron.
- 1849
The zinc-iron circuit.
H. M. Noad, Lectures Electr. (ed. 3) 177 - 1868
Kreittonnite, or Zinc-Iron Gahnite.
J. D. Dana, System of Mineralogy (ed. 5) 149
society occupation and work materials derived or manufactured material metal alloy [adjectives] relating to other specific alloys- white metal1710–Made of white metal. Also: coated or lined with white metal (cf. white-metalled, adj.).
- zinc-iron1849–a. n. An alloy of zinc and iron; b. adj. consisting of zinc and iron.
- nickel–iron1891–Consisting of or containing an alloy of nickel and iron.
Frequency
zinc-iron typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zinc-iron 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 zinc-iron, n. & adj., 1840–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1840 | 0.0027 |
| 1850 | 0.003 |
| 1860 | 0.0035 |
| 1870 | 0.0047 |
| 1880 | 0.0059 |
| 1890 | 0.0076 |
| 1900 | 0.0096 |
| 1910 | 0.011 |
| 1920 | 0.013 |
| 1930 | 0.013 |
| 1940 | 0.012 |
| 1950 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 0.0087 |
| 1970 | 0.0069 |
| 1980 | 0.0051 |
| 1990 | 0.0038 |
| 2000 | 0.0031 |
| 2010 | 0.0032 |