zebra plantnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zebra plant mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zebra plant. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun zebra plant?
| 1920 | 0.0001 |
| 1930 | 0.0002 |
| 1940 | 0.0006 |
| 1950 | 0.0008 |
| 1960 | 0.0011 |
| 1970 | 0.0012 |
| 1980 | 0.0013 |
| 1990 | 0.0014 |
| 2000 | 0.0016 |
| 2010 | 0.0014 |
Where does the noun zebra plant come from?
Earliest known use
1820s
The earliest known use of the noun zebra plant is in the 1820s.
OED's earliest evidence for zebra plant is from 1826, in the writing of G. Miller.
Nearby entries
- zebra finch, n.1868–
- zebrafish, n.1771–
- zebraic, adj.1858–
- zebra marking, n.1854–
- zebra moray, n.1933–
- zebra mule, n.1841–
- zebra mussel, n.1866–
- zebrano, n.1908–
- zebra opossum, n.1808–
- zebra parakeet, n.1856–
- zebra plant, n.1826–
- zebra poison, n.1871–74
- zebra print, n. & adj.1932–
- zebra rhomb, n.1770–1844
- zebra rock, n.1895–
- zebra rush, n.1882–
- zebra shark, n.1804–
- zebra skin, n.1774–
- zebra spider, n.1806–
- zebra suit, n.1853–
- zebra swallowtail, n.1855–
Meaning & use
- 1826–Any of several plants which have conspicuously striped or veined foliage and are typically cultivated as ornamentals, esp. Calathea zebrina (family Marantaceae) and Aphelandra squarrosa (family Acanthaceae).
- 1826
Together with the Proteus and the Zebra plants.
G. Miller, Popular Philosophy vol. II. xxviii. 85 - 1866
Zebra-plant. Calathea zebrina.
J. Lindley & T. Moore, Treasury of Botany vol. II. 1248/1 - 1974
Aphelandra (Zebra Plant) This is another popular house plant, grown usually in the form of Aphelandra squarrosa louisae, with large ivory-veined leaves.
S. Clapham, Greenhouse Book xviiii. 185 - 2016
Zebra plants need adequate humidity but not a lot of direct sunlight.
Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada) (Nexis) 28 January g8
the world plants particular plants plants and herbs non-British plants or herbs [nouns] American or West Indian- masterwort1523–A plant, Peucedanum ostruthium (family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)), formerly highly regarded on account of the sudorific, diuretic, and other medicinal…
- water mango1700A West Indian plant or tree (not identified).
- hogweed1707–Any of several plants native to the Caribbean; spec. (a) a plant of the genus Boerhavia (family Nyctaginaceae), formerly used as food for pigs; †(b)…
- black root1709–a. Any of various North American medicinal plants with dark-coloured roots; esp. a kind of speedwell, Veronicastrum virginicum, native to moist…
- many-seed1750–A tropical shrubby herb with yellow flowers, Ludwigia octovalvis, of the family Onagraceae.
- Martynia1753–A genus of the family Pedaliaceae, consisting of sticky-haired plants, native to warm and tropical parts of America, with two-lipped flowers and…
- Maranta1754–A genus of tropical American monocotyledonous plants (family Marantaceae); (also maranta) a plant of this genus, esp. (a) arrowroot, M. arundinacea…
- hog meat1756–Chiefly Jamaican. Any of various tropical climbing or creeping plants formerly gathered as animal fodder; esp. (a) †the pelican flower, Aristolochia g…
- iron1756= iron shrub, n. Obsolete. rare.
- Evolvulus1764–A genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs of the family Convolvulaceae, containing about 100 species mostly native to tropical America and typically…
- zebra plant1826–Any of several plants which have conspicuously striped or veined foliage and are typically cultivated as ornamentals, esp. Calathea zebrina (family M…
- turkey-flower1843–= turkey-blossom, n.
- vriesia1843–A perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Vriesia (family Bromeliaceæ), native to South or Central America and bearing rosettes of linear leaves…
- Spanish needles1846–The American plant Bidens bipinnata or its prickly fruit.
- turkey-blossom1849–West Indian name of Tribulus cistoides.
- horse poison1851–A West Indian plant, Isotoma longiflora.
- St Martin's herb1860–= herb of St. Martin, n.
- goatweed1864–A flowering plant, Scoparia dulcis (family Plantaginaceae), native to tropical parts of the Americas, used as a medicinal herb, having erect…
- wake-robin1864–In the West Indies and tropical America, applied to certain araceous plants of either of the genera Anthurium (tail-flower) and Philodendron.
- frog-bit1866–The European aquatic plant Hydrocharis morsus-ranae (family Hydrocharitaceae), having kidney-shaped leaves and white and green flowers, now widely…
- herb of St. Martin1866–Sauvagesia erecta, a native of tropical America and the West Indies.
- pipi1866–79More fully pipi pod. The astringent pod of the tropical American plant Caesalpinia paipai (family Caesalpiniaceae (Leguminosae)), sometimes used for…
- goatweed1869–An annual herbaceous plant with a goat-like scent, Ageratum conyzoides (family Asteraceae), native to tropical America, having erect, hairy stems…
- cigar-plant1961–A Mexican plant of the genus Cuphea, having a scarlet tubular corolla tipped with black and white (Cent. Dict. 1889).
Frequency
zebra plant typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zebra plant 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 zebra plant, n., 1920–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1920 | 0.0001 |
| 1930 | 0.0002 |
| 1940 | 0.0006 |
| 1950 | 0.0008 |
| 1960 | 0.0011 |
| 1970 | 0.0012 |
| 1980 | 0.0013 |
| 1990 | 0.0014 |
| 2000 | 0.0016 |
| 2010 | 0.0014 |