zebra moraynoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zebra moray mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zebra moray. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun zebra moray?
| 1930 | 0.00006 |
| 1940 | 0.0001 |
| 1950 | 0.0001 |
| 1960 | 0.0002 |
| 1970 | 0.0002 |
| 1980 | 0.0003 |
| 1990 | 0.0003 |
| 2000 | 0.0004 |
| 2010 | 0.0004 |
Where does the noun zebra moray come from?
Earliest known use
1930s
The earliest known use of the noun zebra moray is in the 1930s.
OED's earliest evidence for zebra moray is from 1933, in Ceylon Journal Science.
Nearby entries
- Zebedist, n.1574
- zebra, n.1597–
- zebra caterpillar, n.1841–
- zebra crossing, n.1934–
- zebra danio, n.1917–
- zebraed, adj.1806–
- 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–
Meaning & use
- 1933–A moray eel with bold dark and white bands, Gymnomuraena zebra (formerly Echidna zebra), of warm and tropical coastal waters in the Indo-Pacific; also more fully zebra moray eel.
- 1933
Order Apodes (Eels)... Arndha zebra (Shaw) Vairan gal gulla (S[inhalese]) zebra moray.
Ceylon Journal Science C. Fisheries September 83 - 1988
The rare zebra moray eel is a resident, as are..angelfish and damselfish.
Gourmet October 85/1 - 2006
Some types of morays, such as the zebra moray in the Philippines, have dull, rounded teeth.
M. J. Gross, Moray Eel iv. 11
the world animals fish class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi subclass Actinopterygii subdivision Teleostei [nouns] order Anguilliformes member of family Muraenidae (eel)- eelOld English–(a) The name of a genus (Anguilla) of soft-finned osseous fishes, strongly resembling snakes in external appearance. The best known species are the…
- anguillea1500An eel.
- moray1624–More fully moray eel. Any of numerous large, predatory, eel-like fishes of the family Muraenidae, which are mostly nocturnal and inhabit warm and…
- green eel1653–†a. Any of various green-coloured eels; esp. a form of the common eel, Anguilla anguilla (obsolete); b. Australian the yellow moray, Gymnothorax pra…
- mudworm1700An eel. Obsolete. rare.
- muraena1753In early use: an eel-like fish mentioned by ancient writers. Later: a moray eel, spec. one of the genus Muraena; (in form Muraena) the genus itself.
- morene1773The moray eel, Muraena helena. Cf. muraena, n.
- muraenoid1849–= muraenid, n.
- spotted moray1877–A moray eel, Gymnothorax moringa, living in shallow reefs, sea grass meadows, and rocky areas of the Atlantic Ocean, with white or pale skin…
- warper1901–A local name for the eel. Cf. wriggler, n.
- zebra moray1933–A moray eel with bold dark and white bands, Gymnomuraena zebra (formerly Echidna zebra), of warm and tropical coastal waters in the Indo-Pacific…
Frequency
zebra moray typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zebra moray 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 of zebra moray, n., 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 | 0.00006 |
| 1940 | 0.0001 |
| 1950 | 0.0001 |
| 1960 | 0.0002 |
| 1970 | 0.0002 |
| 1980 | 0.0003 |
| 1990 | 0.0003 |
| 2000 | 0.0004 |
| 2010 | 0.0004 |