zoo

Pronunciation

• IPA: /zuː/^[1]

Etymology

It is a shortening of the Zoological, itself short for the Zoological Gardens of the London Zoological Society,^[2][3][4] established in 1828 in Regent's Park to house the society's collection of wild animals.^[2][3][5] The first three letters of zoological, from Greek zōion, animal, were taken but said as one syllable.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The London Zoological Gardens: about 1847, in writings of Macaulay;^[2][6] a collection of animals in general, by 1866.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The gardens were at first for scientific study and opened to the public in 1847.^[5] The Century Dictionary called the word a vulgarism that had passed into wide colloquial use.^[3] A diverse collection of people is from 1924,^[6] and a crowded and chaotic place by 1935.^[3] Zoo-keeper is attested by 1885.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1847 – the London Zoological Gardens.^[2]
• 1866 – any zoo.^[3]
• 1874 – first US zoo, in Philadelphia.^[2]
• 1924 – a diverse collection of people.^[6]
• 1935 – a chaotic place.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A park where living animals are kept and shown to the public.
2. (informal) A place or situation of confusion or disorder.

Word family

• zookeeper
• petting zoo

Related words

• zoo-
• zoologist
• zoology
• zoological
• zodiac

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press