Russian, Old Church Slavonic and Lithuanian Crossings in English

zoo-

word-forming element meaning "animal, living being," from Greek zoion "an animal," literally "a living being," from PIE root *gwei- "to live" (source also of Greek bios "life").

*gwei-

zek (n.)

"Russian condemned person in a prison or labor camp," 1968, from Russian zek, probably representing a vocalization of z/k, abbreviation of zaklyuchennyi "prisoner."

Zend (n.)

1715, "Parsee sacred book" (in full, Zend-Avesta, 1620s), from Old Persian zend, from Pahlavi zand "commentary," from Avestan zainti- "knowledge," from PIE root *gno- "to know." First used 1771 in reference to the language of the Zend-Avesta by French scholar Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron (1731-1805).

*gno-

zenith (n.)

"point of the heavens directly overhead at any place," late 14c., from Old French cenith (Modern French zénith), from Medieval Latin cenit, senit, bungled scribal transliterations of Arabic samt "road, path," abbreviation of samt ar-ras, literally "the way over the head." Letter -m- misread as -ni-. The Medieval Latin word could as well be influenced by the rough agreement of the Arabic term with classical Latin semita "sidetrack, side path" (notion of "thing going off to the side"), from se- "apart" + *mi-ta-, a suffixed form of PIE root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move." Figurative sense of "highest point or state" is from c. 1600.

*mei- (1)

zeugma (n.)

1580s, "a single word (usually a verb or adjective) made to refer to two or more nouns in a sentence" (but properly applying to only one of them), from Greek zeugma, "a zeugma; that which is used for joining; boat bridge," literally "a yoking," from zeugnynai "to yoke" (from PIE root *yeug- "to join").

*yeug-

Zeus

supreme god of the ancient Greeks and master of the others, 1706, from Greek, from PIE *dewos- "god" (source also of Latin deus "god," Old Persian daiva- "demon, evil god," Old Church Slavonic deivai, Sanskrit deva-), from root *dyeu- "to shine," in derivatives "sky, heaven, god." The god-sense is originally "shining," but "whether as originally sun-god or as lightener" is not now clear.

zloty (n.)

monetary unit of Poland, 1842, from Polish złoty, literally "of gold," from złoto "gold," related to Russian zoloto, Czech zlato "gold," from suffixed form of PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives denoting gold (the "bright" metal); see gold.

zoanthropy (n.)

form of insanity in which a man imagines himself to be another type of beast, 1845, from French zoanthrope or directly from Modern Latin zoanthropia, from Greek zoion "animal" (from PIE root *gwei- "to live") + anthropos "man" (see anthropo-).

*gwei-

zodiac (n.)

late 14c., from Old French zodiaque, from Latin zodiacus "zodiac," from Greek zodiakos (kyklos) "zodiac (circle)," literally "circle of little animals," from zodiaion, diminutive of zoion "animal" (from PIE root *gwei- "to live"). Libra is not an animal, but it was not a zodiac constellation to the Greeks, who reckoned 11 but counted Scorpio and its claws (including what is now Libra) as a "double constellation." Libra was figured back in by the Romans. In Old English the zodiac was twelf tacna "the twelve signs," and in Middle English also Our Ladye's Waye and the Girdle of the Sky.

*gwei-

Zoe

fem. proper name, Greek, literally "life," from PIE root *gwei- "to live."

*gwei-

zoetrope (n.)

"optical instrument which exhibits pictures as if alive and in action," 1867, literally "wheel of life," from Greek zoe "life" (from PIE root *gwei- "to live") + trope "a turn" (from PIE root *trep- "to turn").

*gwei-

zoic (adj.)

"pertaining to animal life," 1863, from Greek zoikos, from zoion "animal," from PIE root *gwei- "to live."

*gwei-

zone (n.)

late 14c., from Latin zona "geographical belt, celestial zone," from Greek zone "a belt, the girdle worn by women at the hips," related to zonnynai "to gird," from PIE root *yos- "to gird" (source also of Avestan yasta- "girt," Lithuanian juosiu, juosti "to gird," Old Church Slavonic po-jasu "girdle"). The 10c. Anglo-Saxon treatise on astronomy translates Latin quinque zonas as fyf gyrdlas.

Originally one of the five great divisions of the earth's surface (torrid, temperate, frigid; separated by tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and Arctic and Antarctic circles); meaning "any discrete region" is first recorded 1822. Zone defense in team sports is recorded from 1927.

zoolatry (n.)

"worship of animals or an animal," 1817, from zoo- "animal" + -latry "worship of." Related: Zoolater; zoolatrous.

*gwei-

zoology (n.)

"science of animals," 1660s, from Modern Latin zoologia, from Greek zoion "animal" (from PIE root *gwei- "to live") + -logia "study" (see -logy).

*gwei-

zoon (n.)

"animal form containing all elements of a typical organism of its group," 1864, from Greek zoion "animal," from PIE root *gwei- "to live."

*gwei-

zoophilia (n.)

"attraction to animals involving release of sexual energy," 1899, in a translation of Krafft-Ebing, from zoo- "animal" + -philia. "[F]ormerly not implying sexual intercourse or bestiality" [OED]. The meaning "sympathy or tender care for living creatures" is in the nativized formation zoophily (1886).

*gwei-

zoophobia (n.)

1901, from zoo- "animal" + -phobia. Related: Zoophobic; zoophobe.

*gwei-

zooplankton (n.)

1901, from zoo- "animal" + plankton.

*gwei-

zooxanthella (n.)

plural zooxanthellae, yellow pigmentary particles found in nature, 1889, from German (Brandt, 1881), from Greek zoion "animal" (from PIE root *gwei- "to live") + xantho- "yellow" (see xantho-) + Latin suffix -ella.

*gwei-

zwieback (n.)

1894, from German Zweiback "biscuit," literally "twice-baked," from zwei "two, twice" + backen "to bake;" loan-translation of Italian biscotto (see biscuit).

*dwo-

zygoma (n.)

"bony arch of the cheek," plural zygomata, 1680s, Modern Latin, from Greek zygoma, from zygon "yoke" (from PIE root *yeug- "to join"). So called because it connects the bones of the face with those of the skull about the ear.

*yeug-

zygomatic (adj.)

"pertaining to the zygoma," 1709, from Latin zygomaticus, from Greek zygoma (see zygoma).

*yeug-

zygote (n.)

1880, coined 1878 by German cytologist Eduard Strasburger (1844-1912), the widespread attribution to William Bateson being apparently erroneous; from Greek zygotos "yoked," from zygon "yoke" (from PIE root *yeug- "to join").

*yeug-