Zoilism, n.

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

# Zoilismnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zoilism mean?

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

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1760 | 0.0013
1770 | 0.001
1780 | 0.0009
1790 | 0.001
1800 | 0.0002
1810 | 0.0008
1820 | 0.0008
1830 | 0.0012
1840 | 0.0013
1850 | 0.0013
1860 | 0.0012
1870 | 0.0013
1880 | 0.0009
1890 | 0.0009
1900 | 0.0006
1910 | 0.0006
1920 | 0.0006
1930 | 0.0005
1940 | 0.0004
1950 | 0.0004
1960 | 0.0003
1970 | 0.0003
1980 | 0.0003
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0002
2010 | 0.0002

### Where does the noun Zoilism come from?

Earliest known use

early 1600s

The earliest known use of the noun Zoilism is in the early 1600s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zoilism is from 1609, in the writing of N. Morgan.

### Nearby entries

1. zograscope, n. 1753–
2. Zohar, n. 1682–
3. zoic, adj. 1863–
4. -zoic, comb. form¹
5. -zoic, comb. form²
6. zoid, n. 1856–
7. zoid, adj. 1864–
8. zoidiophilous, adj. 1872–
9. zoidogamous, adj. 1899–
10. Zoilean, adj. 1846–
11. Zoilism, n.1609–
12. Zoilist, n. 1594–
13. Zoilitical, adj. 1665
14. Zoilous, adj. 1577–
15. Zoilus, n. 1565–
16. zoisite, n. 1805–
17. zoism, n. 1900–
18. zoist, n. 1843–
19. zoistic, adj. 1849–
20. zoite, n. 1963–
21. -zoite, comb. form

## Meaning & use

1. 1609–
   Carping criticism like that of Zoilus.
   Stressed as ˈZoilism.
   1. 1609

      > The bitter humor of Zoilisme and malice.

      N. Morgan, Perfection of Horse-manship 44
   2. a1682

      > Let not Zoilism or Detraction blast well intended labours.

      Sir T. Browne, Christian Morals (1716) ii. 46
   3. 1753

      > I am convinced of your Endeavours to propogate the Cause of Zoilizm.

      Gray's-Inn Journal No. 54
   1. plitching a1400–50
      a. The action of plucking or snatching; b. carping, cavilling.
   2. carping c1400–
      The action of carp, v.¹. Censorious speech: cavilling, fault-finding, captious criticism.
   3. cavillation 1532–
      = cavil, n. 1. archaic.
   4. pinching 1532
      The action of finding fault. Obsolete. rare.
   5. nibbling?1577–
      The action of nibble, v. (in various senses); an instance of this. Also: a portion nibbled or removed, a very small amount.
   6. Zoilism 1609–
      Carping criticism like that of Zoilus.
   7. carp 1618
      †(a) Discourse. Obsolete. rare. †(b) Power of speech. Obsolete. rare. (c) Carping speech, cavil (with play on carp, n.¹).
   8. snagging 1642–
   9. find-faulting 1654–1858
      Characterized by finding fault; fault-finding.
   10. word-catching 1713–
       a. adj. Given to or characterized by catching at words, pedantic, carping; b. n. petty criticism, pedantry.
   11. pickthanking 1861–63
       The action of pickthank, v.
   12. kvetching c1950–
       The act or activity of criticizing or complaining a great deal.
   13. nitpicking 1951–
       Pedantic criticism; petty or overzealous fault-finding.
   14. ankle-biting 1985–
       colloquial. Persistent or irritating criticism or hostility.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

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

Zoilism 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 Zoilism, n., 1760–2010

* 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
--- | ---
1760 | 0.0013
1770 | 0.001
1780 | 0.0009
1790 | 0.001
1800 | 0.0002
1810 | 0.0008
1820 | 0.0008
1830 | 0.0012
1840 | 0.0013
1850 | 0.0013
1860 | 0.0012
1870 | 0.0013
1880 | 0.0009
1890 | 0.0009
1900 | 0.0006
1910 | 0.0006
1920 | 0.0006
1930 | 0.0005
1940 | 0.0004
1950 | 0.0004
1960 | 0.0003
1970 | 0.0003
1980 | 0.0003
1990 | 0.0002
2000 | 0.0002
2010 | 0.0002

Originally published as part of the entry for Zoilus, n.

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