zincousadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective zincous mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adjective zincous. 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 adjective zincous?
| 1800 | 0.0005 |
| 1810 | 0.0074 |
| 1820 | 0.014 |
| 1830 | 0.013 |
| 1840 | 0.013 |
| 1850 | 0.013 |
| 1860 | 0.013 |
| 1870 | 0.013 |
| 1880 | 0.0076 |
| 1890 | 0.0007 |
| 1900 | 0.0003 |
| 1910 | 0.0002 |
| 1920 | 0.0001 |
| 1930 | 0.0001 |
| 1940 | 0.0001 |
| 1950 | 0.0001 |
| 1960 | 0.0001 |
| 1970 | 0.00009 |
| 1980 | 0.00008 |
| 1990 | 0.0001 |
| 2000 | 0.0001 |
| 2010 | 0.00009 |
How is the adjective zincous pronounced?
British English
Where does the adjective zincous come from?
Earliest known use
1840s
The earliest known use of the adjective zincous is in the 1840s.
OED's earliest evidence for zincous is from 1842, in the writing of Thomas Graham, chemist.
zincous is a borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element.
Etymons: Latin zincum, ‑ous suffix.
Nearby entries
- zinco, n.1887–
- zinco-, comb. form
- zincode, n.1839–
- zincograph, n.1888–
- zincograph, v.1865–
- zincographer, n.1839–
- zincographic, adj.1850–
- zincography, n.1834–
- zincoid, n.1842–
- zinc orange, n.1918–
- zincous, adj.1842–
- zinc-plate, n.1823–
- zinc-powder, n.1881–
- zinc roof, n.1883–
- zinc spar, n.1796–
- zinc-sponge, n.1902–
- zinc sulphide, n.1851–
- zinc white, n.1847–
- zincy, adj.1757–
- zinc yellow, n.1847–
- zindabad, int. & n.1930–
Etymology
Meaning & use
- 1842–Pertaining to or of the nature of zinc; having the affinity of zinc; relatively electropositive. (Opp. to chlorous adj.)
- 1842
The zincous pole.
T. Graham, Elements of Chemistry i. iii. 204 - 1868
It is true in a general way that those elements which differ most strongly in their electrical characters, chlorine and potassium, for example, are likewise those which combine together with the greatest energy; and the division of bodies into electro-positive and electro-negative is therefore retained; the former are also called acid or chlorous, and the latter basylous or zincous.
Fowne's Chemistry (ed. 10) 277
the world matter physics electromagnetic radiation electricity galvanism, voltaism [adjectives] relating to poles relating to positive pole- positive1808–Chemistry. = electropositive, adj. 1.
- zincous1842–Pertaining to or of the nature of zinc; having the affinity of zinc; relatively electropositive. (Opp. to chlorous, adj.)
- In various other terms: zincocalcite n. British English/zɪŋkəʊˈkælsaɪt/ Mineralogy (see quot. 1892). zincolysis n. British English/zɪŋˈkɒlɪsɪs/…
Pronunciation
British 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.
Frequency
zincous typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zincous 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 zincous, adj., 1800–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1800 | 0.0005 |
| 1810 | 0.0074 |
| 1820 | 0.014 |
| 1830 | 0.013 |
| 1840 | 0.013 |
| 1850 | 0.013 |
| 1860 | 0.013 |
| 1870 | 0.013 |
| 1880 | 0.0076 |
| 1890 | 0.0007 |
| 1900 | 0.0003 |
| 1910 | 0.0002 |
| 1920 | 0.0001 |
| 1930 | 0.0001 |
| 1940 | 0.0001 |
| 1950 | 0.0001 |
| 1960 | 0.0001 |
| 1970 | 0.00009 |
| 1980 | 0.00008 |
| 1990 | 0.0001 |
| 2000 | 0.0001 |
| 2010 | 0.00009 |