ZIFT, n.

zift
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zift_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1993; not fully revised

# ZIFTnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun ZIFT mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun ZIFT. 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 ZIFT?

About 0.03occurrences per million words in modern written English

1980 | 0.028
1990 | 0.028
2000 | 0.028
2010 | 0.028

### How is the noun ZIFT pronounced?

#### British English

/zɪft/

### Where does the noun ZIFT come from?

Earliest known use

1980s

The earliest known use of the noun ZIFT is in the 1980s.

OED's earliest evidence for ZIFT is from 1988, in the Lancet.

ZIFT is formed within English, as an acronym.

Etymons: English zygote intra-fallopian transfer.

### Nearby entries

1. zibet-muff, n. 1685
2. zibib, n. 1836–
3. ziczac, n. 1844–
4. zidovudine, n. 1987–
5. Ziegfeld, n. 1913–
6. Ziegler, n. 1957–
7. Ziegler-Natta, n. 1965–
8. Ziehl, n. 1892–
9. Ziehl-Neelsen, n. 1892–
10. ziff, n. 1917–
11. ZIFT, n.1988–
12. zig, n. 1978–
13. zig, v. 1969–
14. Zigeuner, n. & adj. 1802–
15. Zigeunerin, n. 1845–83
16. ziggety, int., adj., & adv. 1924–
17. ziggurat, n. 1873–
18. zigzag, n., adj., & adv. 1712–
19. zigzag, v. 1777–
20. zigzag connection, n. 1922–
21. zigzagged, adj. 1774–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, as an acronym.
Etymon: English zygote intra-fallopian transfer.
Acronym < the initial letters of zygote intra-fallopian transfer, after GIFT n.2

## Meaning & use

1. 1988–
   A technique for facilitating human conception, in which zygotes resulting from in vitro fertilization are transferred directly into the Fallopian tubes of the prospective mother.
   1. [1986

      > We report here what we think is the first pregnancy achieved after translaparoscopic zygote intrafallopian transfer.

      Lancet 7 June 1329/1]
   2. 1988

      > Frozen zygotes were thawed and transferred to her patent fallopian tubes by laparoscopy on the third day of progesterone replacement by zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT).

      Lancet 9 April 835/2
   3. 1989

      > Patients undergoing the ZIFT procedure received a general anaesthetic after which a laparoscopy was performed and the fallopian tubes cannulated.

      British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology vol. 96 1072/1
   4. 1991

      > On this occasion, I was being treated with a variation of Gift, called Zift,..in which the eggs and sperm are mixed outside the body and then replaced in the tube.

      Independent 15 January 17/3
   physiology
   1. self-impregnation 1809–
      a. Fertilization of an animal, esp. a hermaphroditic animal, by male gametes from the same individual; b. artificial insemination of a woman, esp…
   2. in vitro fertilization 1954–
      Fertilization of an ovum or ova outside the body of a female (typically in tissue culture), originally as an experimental technique and later as a…
   3. IVF 1978–
      in vitro fertilization (esp. of human ova).
   4. gamete intrafallopian transfer 1984–
      = GIFT, n.²
   5. GIFT 1984–
      A technique for facilitating human conception, in which sperm and ova are transferred directly into the Fallopian tubes of the prospective mother.
   6. ZIFT 1988–
      A technique for facilitating human conception, in which zygotes resulting from in vitro fertilization are transferred directly into the Fallopian…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɪft/

####

##### 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 /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### 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.

## Frequency

ZIFT typically occurs about 0.03 times per million words in modern written English.

ZIFT is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 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 ZIFT, n., 1980–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1980 | 0.028
1990 | 0.028
2000 | 0.028
2010 | 0.028

ZIFT, n. was first published in 1993; not fully revised.

ZIFT, n. was last modified in December 2024.