zonanoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zona mean?
There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zona. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
zona has developed meanings and uses in subjects including
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 zona?
| 1750 | 0.038 |
| 1760 | 0.064 |
| 1770 | 0.062 |
| 1780 | 0.068 |
| 1790 | 0.074 |
| 1800 | 0.077 |
| 1810 | 0.06 |
| 1820 | 0.072 |
| 1830 | 0.09 |
| 1840 | 0.1 |
| 1850 | 0.14 |
| 1860 | 0.2 |
| 1870 | 0.26 |
| 1880 | 0.28 |
| 1890 | 0.33 |
| 1900 | 0.32 |
| 1910 | 0.32 |
| 1920 | 0.34 |
| 1930 | 0.43 |
| 1940 | 0.54 |
| 1950 | 0.69 |
| 1960 | 0.85 |
| 1970 | 0.94 |
| 1980 | 0.93 |
| 1990 | 0.89 |
| 2000 | 0.86 |
| 2010 | 0.78 |
How is the noun zona pronounced?
British English
Where does the noun zona come from?
Earliest known use
early 1700s
The earliest known use of the noun zona is in the early 1700s.
OED's earliest evidence for zona is from 1706, in Phillips's New World of Words.
zona is a borrowing from Latin.
Etymons: Latin zōna.
Nearby entries
- zombie-like, adj. & adv.1932–
- zombie worm, n.2005–
- zombification, n.1968–
- zombified, adj.1965–
- 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–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1.1800–Archaeology. A girdle: = zone n. 3.
- 1800
Both the tænia and zona are concealed by drapery falling over them.
J. Dallaway, Anecdotes of Arts in England 249
the world textiles and clothing clothing types or styles of clothing clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) [nouns] belt or sash types of worn around waist- girdleOld English–A belt worn round the waist to secure or confine the garments; also employed as a means of carrying light articles, esp. a weapon or purse.
- seynta1350–1530A girdle.
- ceintec1386–1530A girdle; the woven portion of a girdle.
- senturea1400–60A girdle.
- love-lacec1400A girdle given as a love-token.
- girdinga1425–1600That which girds; esp. A girdle. (Also girding-up). Obsolete.
- cinglec1430–A girdle; anything that girds or surrounds; a girth, a belt.
- seynturec1460A waist-belt.
- cenglea1492A girdle.
- waist1550–1616A girdle. Obsolete.
- waist-girdle1553–
- centure1562–1624A belt or girdle; = cincture, n. 3a.
- zone1608–A girdle or belt, as a part of dress. (Chiefly poetic.) Hence, any encircling band.
- cummerbund1616–A sash or girdle worn round the waist; a waist-belt.
- cincture1667–concrete. That which encircles or encompasses. spec. A girdle or belt for the waist. (Mostly poetic, or in reference to ancient times.)
- waist-belt1672–
- centurine1696A type of small waistband or girdle. Cf. centure, n.
- zona1800–Archaeology. A girdle: = zone, n. 3.
- faja1841–A sash, girdle.
- ceinture1856–= cincture, n.
- crios1899–A multicoloured handwoven woollen girdle or belt, originally made in the Aran Islands and typically worn there by men. Also as a modifier, esp. in…
- 2.1706–Used in Anatomy with various qualifying adjectives to denote certain structures or parts of structures (see quots., and cf. zone n. 6).
- 1706
Zona... a kind of Herpes, or Shingles call'd Holy Fire.
Phillips's New World of Words (new edition) - 1818–20
Herpes Zoster, Zona; or Zona ignea: the shingles.
E. Thompson, Cullen's Nosologia (ed. 3) 331 - 1899
Yet there has never been any confusion with regard to H[erpes] Zoster, or Zona, since the disease was first described.
T. C. Allbutt et al., System of Medicine vol. VIII. 616
- steadOld English–1470A definite spot on a surface, esp. on the surface of the body. Obsolete.
- regiona1398–An area of the body or of a part of the body, organ, etc.; (Anatomy, Medicine, and Zoology) such an area defined by surface landmarks, proximity to…
- zona1706–Used in Anatomy with various qualifying adjectives to denote certain structures or parts of structures (see quots., and cf. zone, n. 6).
- territory1824–figurative. Medicine. The region of the body or of an organ served by a specific nerve or blood vessel or group of nerves or vessels.
- tract1841–Natural History, etc. A region or area of some natural structure, as a mineral formation, or the body of an animal or plant; most commonly one…
the world health ill health a disease, disorder, condition, etc. disorders of visible parts eruptive diseases [nouns] herpes shingles- shinglesa1398–Originally: †inflammation or infection of the skin, esp. when accompanied by heat and redness; spec. erysipelas (obsolete). In later use: spec. a…
- zona1706–Used in Anatomy with various qualifying adjectives to denote certain structures or parts of structures (see quots., and cf. zone, n. 6).
- zoster1706–The disease shingles, herpes zoster. Also attributive.
- barngun1746–An eruption of the skin; shingles.
- herpes zoster1807–A disease of the skin (or sometimes of a mucous membrane) characterized by the appearance of patches of distinct vesicles. (Applied widely to a…
- zona ignea1818–Also simply zona, the disease herpes zoster or shingles.
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
zona typically occurs about 0.9 times per million words in modern written English.
zona is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zona, n., 1750–2010
* 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 |
|---|---|
| 1750 | 0.038 |
| 1760 | 0.064 |
| 1770 | 0.062 |
| 1780 | 0.068 |
| 1790 | 0.074 |
| 1800 | 0.077 |
| 1810 | 0.06 |
| 1820 | 0.072 |
| 1830 | 0.09 |
| 1840 | 0.1 |
| 1850 | 0.14 |
| 1860 | 0.2 |
| 1870 | 0.26 |
| 1880 | 0.28 |
| 1890 | 0.33 |
| 1900 | 0.32 |
| 1910 | 0.32 |
| 1920 | 0.34 |
| 1930 | 0.43 |
| 1940 | 0.54 |
| 1950 | 0.69 |
| 1960 | 0.85 |
| 1970 | 0.94 |
| 1980 | 0.93 |
| 1990 | 0.89 |
| 2000 | 0.86 |
| 2010 | 0.78 |
Frequency of zona, n., 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 | 0.022 |
| 2018 | 0.024 |
| 2019 | 0.027 |
| 2020 | 0.029 |
| 2021 | 0.036 |
| 2022 | 0.038 |
| 2023 | 0.041 |
| 2024 | 0.041 |
Compounds & derived words
- zona ignea, n. 1818–Also simply zona, the disease herpes zoster or…
- zona pellucida, n. 1841–The transparent membrane forming the cell-wall of…
- zona tendinosa, n. 1842–
- zona fasciculata, n. 1874–
- zona glomerulosa, n. 1874–
- zona reticularis, n. 1874–The middle, outer, and inner layers respectively…
- zona radiata, n. 1881–A radially striated form of the zona pellucida…