zooxanthellanoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zooxanthella mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zooxanthella. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun zooxanthella?
| 1880 | 0.0065 |
| 1890 | 0.0064 |
| 1900 | 0.012 |
| 1910 | 0.014 |
| 1920 | 0.018 |
| 1930 | 0.022 |
| 1940 | 0.033 |
| 1950 | 0.048 |
| 1960 | 0.063 |
| 1970 | 0.068 |
| 1980 | 0.074 |
| 1990 | 0.081 |
| 2000 | 0.089 |
| 2010 | 0.09 |
How is the noun zooxanthella pronounced?
British English
U.S. English
Where does the noun zooxanthella come from?
Earliest known use
1880s
The earliest known use of the noun zooxanthella is in the 1880s.
OED's earliest evidence for zooxanthella is from 1882, in Journal of Royal Microscopical Society.
zooxanthella is a borrowing from Latin.
Etymons: Latin zooxanthella.
Nearby entries
- zootomy, n.1663–
- zootoxin, n.1906–
- zootrophy, n.1877–
- zoot suit, n.1942–
- zoot-suited, adj.1942–
- zoot-suiter, n.1942–
- zooty, adj.1942–
- zootype, n.1883–
- zootypic, adj.1853–
- zoowoman, n.1930–
- zooxanthella, n.1882–
- zooxanthellate, adj. & n.1981–
- zooxanthin, n.1868–
- zoozygosphere, n.1880–
- zope, n.1880–
- zophoric, adj.1728–
- zophorus | zoophorus, n.1563–
- zopilote, n.1787–
- zopissa, n.1601–
- zoppa, adj.1740–
- Zoque, n.1891–
Etymology
Summary
Notes
- 1882
Dr. Brandt further names the species of algæ in question under two genera, Zoochlorella and Zooxanthella.
Nature 9 February 338/2
Meaning & use
- 1882–Any of various typically yellow-brown photosynthetic dinoflagellates (formerly grouped in the genus Zooxanthella) which frequently live as symbionts within the cells of certain marine invertebrates, esp. reef-building corals. Chiefly in plural.Zooxanthellae are now placed in the genera Symbiodinium and Amphidinium (Phylum Dinoflagellata).
- 1882
The yellow bodies (or zooxanthellæ of Brandt) which are found in the cells of the endoderm are probably..foreign algæ.
Journal of Royal Microscopical Society vol. 2 794 - 1896
Zooxanthellae..are most numerous in the tentacles.
Sci. Trans. Royal Dublin Society vol. 6 418 - 1927
Zooxanthellae in the free-living state are often provided with two flagella at one end of the body.
I. E. Wallin, Symbionticism & Origin Species vi. 71 - 1958
In Elysia and Tridachia , the flattened margin of the body is coloured by special zooxanthellae which multiply there.
J. E. Morton, Molluscs ii. 39 - 1991
Symbiotic dinoflagellates are often referred to as zooxanthellae, a term of convenience that is used for all brown or yellow-brown symbiotic algae and has little taxonomic significance.
R. S. K. Barnes & K. H. Mann, Fundamentals of Aquatic Ecology (ed. 2) x. 204/2 - 2004
The polyps that build the Reef eject the zooxanthellae (algae that provide them with nutrition) from their tissues in response to heat stress.
Times Literary Supplement 11 June 7/1
- rock-builder1838–Any of various marine organisms which contribute to the formation of limestones and other sedimentary rocks, typically by the accumulation or…
- aerobian1865–81= aerobe, n. Obsolete. rare.
- anaerobian1865–1900= anaerobe, n. Obsolete. rare.
- microzyme1870–= microzyma, n. Also: a bacterium.
- mycetes1874–With plural agreement. Originally: fungi and bacteria (considered as a division of the vegetable kingdom). Now: spec. fungi, esp. microscopic…
- pathogen1880–A microorganism that causes disease. Also figurative.
- zooxanthella1882–Any of various typically yellow-brown photosynthetic dinoflagellates (formerly grouped in the genus Zooxanthella) which frequently live as symbionts…
- aerobe1883–An organism, esp. a microorganism, that has the ability to live in the presence of oxygen. Cf. earlier aerobian, n.
- anaerobe1883–An organism, esp. a microorganism, that has the ability to live in the absence of oxygen. Cf. earlier anaerobian, n.
- zymad1885–A micro-organism which produces zymotic disease.
- pathogerm1897–A pathogenic microorganism.
- phytoflagellate1902–A flagellate (protist) belonging to any of several groups of unicellular organisms whose members typically possess one or more flagella and have…
- filter-passer1906–A substance or organism capable of passing through a filter; spec. a filterable virus.
- aerophile1907–An aerobe; spec. one that exhibits optimal growth at an oxygen concentration equal to or greater than that of the air (approximately 20%). Cf. micr…
- zymocytea1909–A unicellular organism which produces fermentation.
- fermenter1918–An organism that causes fermentation.
- phytopathogen1918–A microorganism which produces disease in plants.
- phytomonad1926–A phytoflagellate belonging to the order Phytomonadina.
- Only in pleuropneumonia-like organism n.: a mycoplasma; abbreviation PPLO.
- phototroph1941–A phototrophic organism.
- mycoplasma1955–Any microorganism of the genus Mycoplasma, comprising very small pleomorphic prokaryotes which are bounded by a trilaminar membrane and lack a…
- prokaryote1963–A prokaryotic organism. Contrasted with eukaryote.
- mycoplasm1964–= mycoplasma, n. 2.
- serovar1973–An antigenically distinct strain of a microorganism; = serotype, n.; (also) a subdivision of a species or subspecies comprising such strains.
- spiroplasma1973–Any of a group of pathogenic prokaryotes lacking a cell wall and related to the mycoplasmas, but characterized by their helical structure and…
- prokaryon1975–= prokaryote, n. (rare). Also (in plural, in form Prokarya): a taxonomic group comprising the prokaryotes, coextensive with Prokaryota.
- ureaplasma1975–A micro-organism of the genus Ureaplasma, formerly included within the genus Mycoplasma (cf. mycoplasma, n.), which is characterized by the…
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. English
Plural: zooxanthellae
British English
U.S. English
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
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
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
Inflections
Frequency
zooxanthella typically occurs about 0.08 times per million words in modern written English.
zooxanthella 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 of zooxanthella, 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 | 0.0065 |
| 1890 | 0.0064 |
| 1900 | 0.012 |
| 1910 | 0.014 |
| 1920 | 0.018 |
| 1930 | 0.022 |
| 1940 | 0.033 |
| 1950 | 0.048 |
| 1960 | 0.063 |
| 1970 | 0.068 |
| 1980 | 0.074 |
| 1990 | 0.081 |
| 2000 | 0.089 |
| 2010 | 0.09 |
Compounds & derived words
- a. n.A coral that possesses symbiotic…