zonallyadverb
Factsheet
What does the adverb zonally mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the adverb zonally. 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 adverb zonally?
| 1870 | 0.0082 |
| 1880 | 0.01 |
| 1890 | 0.01 |
| 1900 | 0.011 |
| 1910 | 0.014 |
| 1920 | 0.017 |
| 1930 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 0.025 |
| 1950 | 0.033 |
| 1960 | 0.041 |
| 1970 | 0.045 |
| 1980 | 0.048 |
| 1990 | 0.051 |
| 2000 | 0.055 |
| 2010 | 0.056 |
Where does the adverb zonally come from?
Earliest known use
1870s
The earliest known use of the adverb zonally is in the 1870s.
OED's earliest evidence for zonally is from 1873, in the writing of Andrew Wilson, traveller and writer.
Nearby entries
- zombify, v.1950–
- zombocalypse, n.2007–
- zomboid, adj.1963–
- zom-com, n.2004–
- zomotherapeutic, adj.1900–
- zomotherapy, n.1900–
- zona, n.1706–
- zona ignea, n.1818–
- zonal, adj.1867–
- zonality, n.1909–
- zonally, adv.1873–
- zonal marking, n.1958–
- zona pellucida, n.1841–
- zona radiata, n.1881–
- zona reticularis, n.1874–
- zonarious, adj.1656–
- zonary, adj.1881–
- zonate, adj.1866–
- zonated, adj.1803–
- zonation, n.1898–
- zone, n.a1500–
Meaning & use
- 1873–In or according to zones.Stressed as ˈzonally.
- 1873
The segments..of the body, which are arranged zonally along a longitudinal axis.
A. Wilson, Elements of Zoology i. ii. 22 - 1889
Crystals of the hyacinth variety of quartz..contain numerous inclusions of anhydrite arranged zonally.
American Naturalist vol. 23 814
- zonally1873–In or according to zones.
Frequency
zonally typically occurs about 0.05 times per million words in modern written English.
zonally 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 zonally, adv., 1870–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.0082 |
| 1880 | 0.01 |
| 1890 | 0.01 |
| 1900 | 0.011 |
| 1910 | 0.014 |
| 1920 | 0.017 |
| 1930 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 0.025 |
| 1950 | 0.033 |
| 1960 | 0.041 |
| 1970 | 0.045 |
| 1980 | 0.048 |
| 1990 | 0.051 |
| 2000 | 0.055 |
| 2010 | 0.056 |
Frequency of zonally, adv., 2017–2024
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.
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 corpus.
| Period | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.0048 |
| 2018 | 0.0044 |
| 2019 | 0.0055 |
| 2020 | 0.0081 |
| 2021 | 0.0099 |
| 2022 | 0.012 |
| 2023 | 0.014 |
| 2024 | 0.015 |