zoophile, n.

zoophile
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zoophile_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2017

# zoophilenoun

## Earlier version

- zoophile in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zoophile mean?

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

zoophile has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

life sciences (1880s) ecology (1890s) plants (1890s)

### How common is the noun zoophile?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1880 | 0.0005
1890 | 0.0006
1900 | 0.001
1910 | 0.0011
1920 | 0.0017
1930 | 0.002
1940 | 0.0024
1950 | 0.0027
1960 | 0.003
1970 | 0.0034
1980 | 0.0039
1990 | 0.0038
2000 | 0.004
2010 | 0.0043

### How is the noun zoophile pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzuː(ə)fʌɪl/
ZOO-uh-fighl
/ˈzəʊəfʌɪl/
ZOH-uh-fighl

#### U.S. English

/ˈzu(ə)ˌfaɪl/
ZOO-uh-fighl
/ˈzoʊəˌfaɪl/
ZOH-uh-fighl

### Where does the noun zoophile come from?

Earliest known use

1880s

The earliest known use of the noun zoophile is in the 1880s.

OED's earliest evidence for zoophile is from 1885, in Our Corner.

zoophile is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: zoo- comb. form, ‑phile comb. form.

### Nearby entries

1. zoonotic, adj. 1877–
2. zoon politikon, n. 1895–
3. zoonters, int. a1763–
4. zoo-organic, adj. 1821–90
5. zoopathologist, n. 1898–
6. zoopathology, n. 1841–
7. zoophagan, n. & adj. 1835–
8. zoophagic, adj. 1903–
9. zoophagous, adj. 1788–
10. zoophagy, n. 1849–
11. zoophile, n.1885–
12. zoophilia, n. 1894–
13. zoophilic, adj. 1884–
14. zoophilism, n. 1867–
15. zoophilist, n. 1829–
16. zoophilite, n. 1879–
17. zoophilous, adj. 1881–
18. zoophily, n. 1830–
19. zoophobia, n. 1888–
20. zoophysical, adj. 1820–
21. zoophysics, n. 1887–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by compounding.
Etymons: zoo- comb. form, ‑phile comb. form.
< zoo- comb. form + ‑phile comb. form.

In sense 1 probably after zoophily n.

Compare French zoophile (noun) person who is fond of animals (1827 or earlier), zoophilous plant (1887 or earlier).

Compare earlier zoophilist n. and…
< zoo- comb. form + ‑phile comb. form.

In sense 1 probably after zoophily n.

Compare French zoophile (noun) person who is fond of animals (1827 or earlier), zoophilous plant (1887 or earlier).

Compare earlier zoophilist n. and zoophilite n.

### Notes

New English Dictionary (OED first edition) (1921) gives the pronunciation as (zōu·ŏfil) /ˈzəʊəfɪl/ .

## Meaning & use

1. 1.
   1885–
   A person who is very fond of, or compassionate towards, animals; an opponent of cruelty to animals, esp. an antivivisectionist (cf. zoophilist n., zoophilite n.). Also: a person who is sexually attracted to animals (cf. zoophilia n. 2).
   1. 1885

      > Sympathetic zoophiles conceive a decapitated frog..as writhing in agony.

      Our Corner August 91
   2. 1897

      > For our present purpose let such persons be classified as Zoophiles—antivivisectionists.

      Transactions Amer. Microsc. Soc. 1896 vol. 18 143
   3. 1939

      > The Anti-Cruelty Society..maintains an establishment that would delight the most ardent zoophile.

      A. C. McClurg, Illinois 249
   4. 1994

      > Marian was not a committed zoophile, though—at least she didn't think of herself as one.

      N. Baker, Fermata xiv. 200
   5. 2001

      > Zoophiles gabbed while their beasts were..snapping at cyclists.

      I. Sinclair, Landor's Tower (2002) i. iii. 32
   life sciences
   1. philobrutist 1826
      A person who is fond of or kind to animals; an animal-lover.
   2. zoophile 1885–
      A person who is very fond of, or compassionate towards, animals; an opponent of cruelty to animals, esp. an antivivisectionist (cf. zoophilist, n.…
   3. animal lover 1891–
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. quick dissection 1578
      A dissection of a living anatomical specimen; cf. quick anatomy, n.
   2. anatomy 1607–68
      With quick, live: Vivisection. Obs.
   3. vivisection 1707–
      The action of cutting or dissecting some part of a living organism; spec. the action or practice of performing dissection, or other painful…
   4. vivisecting 1876–
   5. zoophile 1885–
      A person who is very fond of, or compassionate towards, animals; an opponent of cruelty to animals, esp. an antivivisectionist (cf. zoophilist, n.…
   6. sentisection 1889–
      The dissection of a living animal without an anæsthetic.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1895–
   Ecology. A zoophilous plant, seed, etc. See zoophilous adj. 1.
   1. 1895

      > The seeds which are aided by this mode of dissemination are called zoöphiles.

      Popular Science Monthly February 501
   2. 1986

      > Flowers of numerous taxa exhibit features which are ‘intermediate’ between ‘typical’ zoophiles and ‘typical’ anemophiles.

      C. Puff, Biosystematic Study Afr. & Madagascan Rubiaceae-Anthospermeae c xii. 133
   3. 2008

      > Comparative analysis of genome sequence from geophiles, zoophiles, and anthropophiles will identify loci required for mating competence.

      Eukaryotic Cell vol. 7 1238/2
   ecology plants
   1. zoophile 1895–
      Ecology. A zoophilous plant, seed, etc. See zoophilous, adj. 1.
   2. zoochore 1904–
      A plant whose seeds, spores, etc., are dispersed by animals.
   3. hydrochore 1905–
      A plant whose seeds are dispersed by water.
   4. myrmecochore 1972–
      Originally: a seed or fruit having an appendage rich in oil or protein which makes it attractive to ants, so facilitating its dispersal (now rare)…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzuː(ə)fʌɪl/
ZOO-uh-fighl
/ˈzəʊəfʌɪl/
ZOH-uh-fighl

### U.S. English

/ˈzu(ə)ˌfaɪl/
ZOO-uh-fighl
/ˈzoʊəˌfaɪl/
ZOH-uh-fighl

####

##### 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

### Notes

New English Dictionary (OED first edition) (1921) gives the pronunciation as (zōu·ŏfil) /ˈzəʊəfɪl/ .

## Forms

### Variant forms

See zoo- comb. form and ‑phile comb. form.

## Frequency

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

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

### Frequency of zoophile, n., 1880–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1880 | 0.0005
1890 | 0.0006
1900 | 0.001
1910 | 0.0011
1920 | 0.0017
1930 | 0.002
1940 | 0.0024
1950 | 0.0027
1960 | 0.003
1970 | 0.0034
1980 | 0.0039
1990 | 0.0038
2000 | 0.004
2010 | 0.0043

zoophile, n. was revised in June 2017.

zoophile, n. was last modified in December 2024.