zodiac English · revision 1555

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1390}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈzəʊ.dɪˌæk/ ''(UK)''; /ˈzoʊ.diˌæk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|zodiak]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|zodiaque]] and directly [[bor|la|zōdiacus]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[grc|ζῳδιακός|tr=zōidiakós|t=of the figures]], short for [[m|grc|ζῳδιακὸς κύκλος|tr=zōidiakòs kýklos|t=circle of figures]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Word Histories) from [[m|grc|ζῴδιον|tr=zṓidion|t=sculptured or painted figure; sign of the zodiac]], a diminutive of [[m|grc|ζῷον|tr=zôion|t=animal, living being]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Klein 1966) from [[ine-pro|*gʷei-|t=to live]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A belt of the heavens on either side of the ecliptic, within which the sun, moon and planets appear to move, divided into twelve signs (1390 in the OED; 1391 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Since many of the constellations that mark its twelve divisions are animals, the name means “circle of little animals”.^(MW Word Histories)^(Etymonline) Libra is not an animal, but the Greeks counted eleven signs, treating Scorpio and its claws as one double constellation; the Romans restored Libra.^(Etymonline) In Old English the zodiac was ''twelf tacna'', “the twelve signs”.^(Etymonline) By about 1391 the word also meant a figure or diagram of the zodiac.^(OED 1989) From the 16th century it was used figuratively of a year, a recurring round, a range, or a set of twelve.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1390 – the zodiacal belt and its signs.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1391 – a figure of the zodiac.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1560 – a year; the calendar (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1560 – a set of twelve.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1576 – ''zodiacal''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An imaginary band of the [[celestial sphere]] extending about 8° on each side of the [[ecliptic]], within which the sun, moon and principal planets appear to move.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(astrology)'' This band divided into twelve equal parts, the signs, each named after a [[constellation]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A diagram or figure representing the zodiac and its signs.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A complete circuit or cyclic course.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[zodiacal]]

+ * [[zodiacal light]]

+ * [[sign of the zodiac]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[zoo]]

+ * [[zoology]]

+ * [[zoon]]

+ * [[horoscope]]

+ * [[ecliptic]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}