zip fastening, n. & adj.

zip-fastening
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zip-fastening_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2021

# zip fasteningnoun & adjective

## Factsheet

### What does the word zip fastening mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the word zip fastening. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the word zip fastening?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1930 | 0.0005
1940 | 0.0006
1950 | 0.0006
1960 | 0.0005
1970 | 0.0007
1980 | 0.0008
1990 | 0.0008
2000 | 0.0009
2010 | 0.0009

### Where does the word zip fastening come from?

Earliest known use

1920s

The earliest known use of the word zip fastening is in the 1920s.

OED's earliest evidence for zip fastening is from 1925, in Washington C.H. (Ohio) Herald.

### Nearby entries

1. zip-a-dee-doo-dah, int. & adj. 1945–
2. zip code, n. 1962–
3. zip-code, v. 1962–
4. zip-coded, adj. 1963–
5. zip-coding, n. 1964–
6. zip coon, n. 1833–
7. zip cuff, n. 1995–
8. zip cuff, v. 1996–
9. Zipf, n. 1936–
10. zip fastener, n. 1925–
11. zip fastening, n. & adj.1925–
12. zip gun, n. 1914–
13. Ziph, n. 1834–
14. ziphian, n. & adj. 1896
15. ziphiiform, adj. 1891
16. ziphioid, adj. & n. 1861–
17. zipless, adj. 1922–
18. zip line, n. 1970–
19. zip line, v. 1998–
20. zipliner, n. 1993–
21. zip lining, n.?1983–

## Meaning & use

1. 1925–
   a. n. A fastening device for clothes, bags, and other items, consisting of two flexible strips with interlocking projections of metal or plastic which can be closed or opened by pulling a sliding tag along them; = zip n.1 B.2; b. adj. that opens or closes by means of a zip.
   1. 1925

      > Junior fashions..featured the introduction of the Zip fastening in little children's snow suits last winter.

      Washington C.H. (Ohio) Herald 23 April 5/7
   2. 1926

      > Rip-open or ‘zip’ fastening bags have not been much liked.

      Times 25 August 13/6
   3. 1984

      > Zip fastening pockets enable the rider to gain quick access to bits and pieces.

      Freewheeling (Australia) January 42/1
   4. 2000

      > A one-piece mattress is often preferred because the zip fastenings are not always comfortable to sleep on.

      J. Copestick, And so to Bed 157/2
   building
   1. zipper 1924–
      Chiefly North American. A fastening device for clothes, bags, and other items, consisting of two flexible strips with interlocking projections of…
   2. zip 1925–
      A fastening device for clothes, bags, and other items, consisting of two flexible strips with interlocking projections of metal or plastic which…
   3. zip fastener 1925–
      A fastening device for clothes, bags, and other items, consisting of two flexible strips with interlocking projections of metal or plastic which…
   4. zip fastening 1925–
      a. n. A fastening device for clothes, bags, and other items, consisting of two flexible strips with interlocking projections of metal or plastic…
   5. zip top 1926–
      A zip at the top of a bag or other item; a top that can be opened or closed by means of a zip.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zip fastening typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zip fastening 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 data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zip fastening, n. & adj., 1930–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1930 | 0.0005
1940 | 0.0006
1950 | 0.0006
1960 | 0.0005
1970 | 0.0007
1980 | 0.0008
1990 | 0.0008
2000 | 0.0009
2010 | 0.0009

Originally published as part of the entry for zip, int. & n.¹

zip, int. & n.¹ was revised in March 2021.