zip English · revision 15328
17 Oct 2026, 16:12 by bogdan “en10k b0438: consult … hypothesis” current version
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+ Zip, a sharp sound, speed or a fastener, is imitative; zip, nothing, is of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /zɪp/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ {{homograph|1|sound, speed, fastener}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=1852}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The zip of speed is imitative of the sound of an object passing rapidly through the air or of fabric tearing.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) The fastener sense comes through [[zipper]], formed from it, and the verb to fasten is a back-formation from zipper.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To move rapidly, with a zipping sound: 1852, American English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The noun, the sound, is from 1875,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and figuratively energy, force or vim from 1900.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Zippy is from 1904.^(Barnhart 1988) Zipper, a sliding fastener, is from 1925, registered as a trademark for a boot with such a closing;^(Barnhart 1988) zip as the fastener itself is from 1928,^(OED 1989) and to fasten with a zip from 1932, in Aldous Huxley's ''Brave New World''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Zip up'' is from 1959.^(Etymonline) Word Origins notes that the idea of speed was already present before the fastener.^(Cresswell 2021)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1852 – to zip, move fast.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1875 – the sound.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1900 – energy.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1925 – zipper.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1928 – a zip fastener.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1932 – to zip, fasten.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A fastener with two rows of interlocking teeth closed by a sliding tab; a [[zipper]].^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A short sharp whizzing sound.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # ''(informal)'' Energy; [[vim]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To move fast, with or as if with a whizzing sound.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # To fasten or unfasten with a zip.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[zipper]]
+ * [[zippy]]
+ * [[unzip]]
+ * [[zip fastener]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|nothing}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=c. 1900}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ Zip, nothing, is of uncertain origin, perhaps an expressive alteration of [[zero]] (compare [[zilch]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A mark of zero among students: about 1900, American English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It is now used especially of a score of zero in sports.^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1900 – zip, zero.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(US, informal)'' Nothing; [[zero]], nil.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[zoom]]
+ * [[zilch]]
+ * [[zing]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ The American ''zip code'', a postal code (from 1963), is unrelated, being short for Zone Improvement Plan.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}