zule | zulis, n.

zule
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zule_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zule | zulisnoun

## Earlier version

- zule in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zule mean?

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

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1800 | 0.0005
1810 | 0.0006
1820 | 0.0005
1830 | 0.0005
1840 | 0.0004
1850 | 0.0004
1860 | 0.0004
1870 | 0.0003
1880 | 0.0002
1890 | 0.0001
1900 | 0.0002
1910 | 0.0001
1920 | 0.0002
1930 | 0.0002
1940 | 0.0002
1950 | 0.0002
1960 | 0.0002
1970 | 0.0002
1980 | 0.0002
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0001
2010 | 0.0001

### How is the noun zule pronounced?

#### British English

/zuːl/
zool
/zʊl/
zuul

#### U.S. English

/zul/
zool
/zʊl/
zuul

### Where does the noun zule come from?

Earliest known use

late 1700s

The earliest known use of the noun zule is in the late 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for zule is from 1780, in the writing of Joseph Edmondson, herald and coach-painter.

Perhaps from a proper name.

Etymons: proper name Zuilestein.

### Nearby entries

1. zucca, n. 1818–
2. zucchetto, n. 1853–
3. zucchini, n. 1916–
4. zuche, n. 1358–1676
5. Zuckerkandl, n. 1910–
6. zufolo, n. 1724–
7. zug, n. 1899–
8. zugtrompete, n. 1978–
9. Zugunruhe, n. 1950–
10. Zugzwang, n. 1904–
11. zule | zulis, n.1780–
12. Zulu, n. & adj. 1824–
13. Zulu, v. 1882–
14. Zuludom, n. 1867–
15. Zulu hat, n. 1879–
16. Zuluize, v. 1852–
17. Zulu time, n. 1959–
18. zumbador, n. 1758–64
19. zumbi, n. 1704–
20. zumboorukchee, n. 1840–
21. Zuñi, n. 1834–

## Etymology

### Summary

Of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a proper name.
Etymon: proper name Zuilestein.
Origin uncertain. Perhaps < Zuile- (in the name of Willem Zuilestein (fl. 17th cent.)), Dutch-born master of the robes to King William III, created baron of Enfield, and in whose arms such charges…
Origin uncertain. Perhaps < Zuile- (in the name of Willem Zuilestein (fl. 17th cent.)), Dutch-born master of the robes to King William III, created baron of Enfield, and in whose arms such charges appeared.

### Notes

The German name for the chess rook is Turm, lit. ‘tower’.

## Meaning & use

Heraldry.

1. 1780–
   A chess rook as a bearing.
   1. 1780

      > Zulis, a German bearing, nearly resembling a chess-rook.

      J. Edmondson, Complete Body of Heraldry vol. II
   2. 1874

      > Gu. three zules (chess rooks?) arg. in chief a label of three points of the last.

      J. W. Papworth & A. W. Morant, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms 1125/2
   heraldry chess
   1. zule 1780–
      A chess rook as a bearing.
   2. chess-rook 1863–
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zuːl/
zool
/zʊl/
zuul

### U.S. English

/zul/
zool
/zʊl/
zuul

####

##### 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.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- 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.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

1. 1700s
   zulis
2. 1800s
   zule

## Frequency

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

zule 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 zule | zulis, n., 1800–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1800 | 0.0005
1810 | 0.0006
1820 | 0.0005
1830 | 0.0005
1840 | 0.0004
1850 | 0.0004
1860 | 0.0004
1870 | 0.0003
1880 | 0.0002
1890 | 0.0001
1900 | 0.0002
1910 | 0.0001
1920 | 0.0002
1930 | 0.0002
1940 | 0.0002
1950 | 0.0002
1960 | 0.0002
1970 | 0.0002
1980 | 0.0002
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0001
2010 | 0.0001

zule, n. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zule, n. was last modified in June 2025.