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zip

Etymology and origin of the English word zip

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Zip, a sharp sound, speed or a fastener, is imitative; zip, nothing, is of uncertain origin.[1][2]

Pronunciation

zip1 sound, speed, fastener

Confidence
Established
Formation
Onomatopoeia
First attested
1852

Etymology

The zip of speed is imitative of the sound of an object passing rapidly through the air or of fabric tearing.[1][4][5][6] The fastener sense comes through zipper, formed from it, and the verb to fasten is a back-formation from zipper.[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To move rapidly, with a zipping sound: 1852, American English.[1][4][5][2]

Semantic evolution

The noun, the sound, is from 1875,[1][2] and figuratively energy, force or vim from 1900.[1][2] Zippy is from 1904.[1] Zipper, a sliding fastener, is from 1925, registered as a trademark for a boot with such a closing;[1] zip as the fastener itself is from 1928,[2] and to fasten with a zip from 1932, in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.[1][4][2] Zip up is from 1959.[4] Word Origins notes that the idea of speed was already present before the fastener.[7]

Timeline

  • 1852 – to zip, move fast.[1]
  • 1875 – the sound.[1][2]
  • 1900 – energy.[1][2]
  • 1925 – zipper.[1]
  • 1928 – a zip fastener.[2]
  • 1932 – to zip, fasten.[1]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (chiefly British) A fastener with two rows of interlocking teeth closed by a sliding tab; a zipper.
  2. A short sharp whizzing sound.
  3. (informal) Energy; vim.

Verb

  1. To move fast, with or as if with a whizzing sound.
  2. To fasten or unfasten with a zip.

Word family

  • zipper
  • zippy
  • unzip
  • zip fastener

zip2 nothing

Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
c. 1900

Etymology

Zip, nothing, is of uncertain origin, perhaps an expressive alteration of zero (compare zilch).[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A mark of zero among students: about 1900, American English.[1][2]

Semantic evolution

It is now used especially of a score of zero in sports.[1][8]

Timeline

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (US, informal) Nothing; zero, nil.

Usage notes

The American zip code, a postal code (from 1963), is unrelated, being short for Zone Improvement Plan.[7][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Zip.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/zip. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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