Z not a native letter in O.E.; in Anglo-Fr. words it represents the ts sound (cf. Anglo-Fr. fiz, from L. filius, modern Fitz); late 13c. it began to be used for the voiced s sound and had fully taken that role by 1400. For letter name, see zed. Thou whoreson Zed, thou vnnecessary Letter. King Lear, II.ii.69 Series of zs to represent a buzzing sound first attested 1852; zees spell of sleep, a nap is slang first recorded 1963, Amer.Eng. student slang. Zacchaeus masc. proper name, from L.L. Zacchaeus, from Gk. Zakkhaios, from Heb. zakkay, lit. pure, innocent, from zakhah was clean, was pure. Zachariah masc. proper name, L.L. Zacharias, from Gk. Zakharias, from Heb. Zekharyahu, lit. the Lord has remembered, from zakhar he remembered. zaftig alluringly plump, curvaceous, buxom, 1937, from Yiddish zaftik, lit. juicy, from zaft juice, from M.H.G. saft juice (see sap (n.1). zag (v.) 1793, from zig-zag (q.v.). Zamboni proprietary name for a machine used to resurface ice skating rinks, 1965, trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Paramount, Calif., claiming use since July 1962. zany (n.) comic performer, 1588, from Fr. zani, from It. zani, zanni a zany, clown, originally Zanni, Venetian dial. variant of Gianni, pet form of Giovanni John. A stock character in old comedies, he aped the principal actors. The adj. is attested by 1869, from the noun. zap 1929 (sound effect), 1942 (v.), comic strip word (especially from Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century), of imitative origin. Meaning to erase electronically is 1982. Zarathustra from Avestan Zarathushtra (see Zoroastrian). zeal 1382, from L.L. zelus zeal, emulation (cf. O.Fr. zel, It. zelo, Sp. celo), a Church word, from Gk. zelos zeal, ardor, jealousy, which is of uncertain origin. Zealous first recorded 1535. zealot c.1300, member of a militant 1st century Jewish sect which fiercely resisted the Romans in Palestine, from L.L. Zelotes, from Gk. zelotes one who is a zealous follower, from zeloun to be zealous, from zelos zeal (see zeal). Extended sense of a fanatical enthusiast first recorded 1638. zebra 1600, from It. zebra, perhaps from Port., earlier applied to a now-extinct wild ass, said to be Congolese OED, or Amharic Klein, but perhaps ult. from L. equiferus wild horse, from equus horse + ferus (see fierce). zebu Asiatic ox, 1774, from Fr. zebu, ult. of Tibetan origin. First shown in Europe at the Paris fair of 1752. Zebulon masc. proper name, Biblical son of Jacob by Leah, from Heb. Zebhulun, from zebhul a dwelling + dim. suffix -on (cf. Gen. xxx:20). Zechariah masc. proper name, Biblical 11th of the Twelve Prophets; see Zachariah. zed c.1400, from M.Fr. zede, from L.L. zeta, from Gk. zeta, from Heb. zayin, letter name, lit. weapon; so called in allusion to the shape of this letter in ancient Hebrew. U.S. pronunciation zee is first attested 1677. Other dialectal names for the letter are izzard, ezod, uzzard and zod. Zeiss in ref. to spy-glasses or binoculars, 1905, from the firm founded by Ger. optical instrument manufacturer Carl Zeiss (1816-88). zeitgeist 1848, from Ger. Zeitgeist, lit. spirit of the age, from Zeit time (see tide) + Geist spirit (see ghost). Zen school of Mahayana Buddhism, 1727, from Japanese, from Chinese chan, ult. from Skt. dhyana thought, meditation, from PIE base *dhya to see, contemplate. Zend 1715, Parsee sacred book (in full, Zend-Avesta, 1630), from O.Pers. zend, from Pahlavi zand commentary. First used in ref. to the language of the Zend-Avesta in 1771 by Anquetiel-Duperron (1731-1805). zenith 1387, from O.Fr. cenith (Fr. znith), from M.L. cenit, senit, bungled scribal transliteration of Arabic samt road, path, abbreviation of samt ar-ras, lit. the way over the head. Letter -m- misread as -ni-. The M.L. word may as well be influenced by the rough agreement of the Arabic term with classical L. semita sidetrack, side path (notion of thing going off to the side), from se- apart + *mi-ta-, suffixed zero-grade form of PIE base *mei- to change (see mutable). Zenobia fem. proper name, from Gk. Zenobia, lit. the force of Zeus, from Zen, collateral form of Zeus, + bia strength, force, cognate with Skt. jya force, power (see Jain). Zenonian 1843, pertaining to one of two Gk. thinkers: Zeno of Elea (Zeno of the Paradoxes, 5c. B.C.E.), who disproved the possibility of motion; and Zeno of Citium (c. 300 B.C.E.), founder of stoicism. zephyr 1369, from O.E. Zefferus, from L. Zephyrus, from Gk. Zephyros the west wind (sometimes personified as a god), probably related to zophos the west, the dark region, darkness, gloom. Sense of mild breeze is c.1610. zeppelin 1900, from Ger. Zeppelin, short for Zeppelinschiff Zeppelin ship, after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838-1917), Ger. general who perfected its design. zero 1604, from It. zero, fro