I always feel the beginning of a sniffle and a repressed sneeze when open up my copy of Noah Webster's Dictionary from 1866.
It is a dusty old volume that was bought at an Auction Sale albeit wholly accidentally in that it was hidden away at the bottom of a box of oddments of magazines and copies of The War Papers which were reproductions of authentic WW2 broadsheets as part of a collectable series in the mid 1970's. Truth be told it was those fascinating documents that had caught my attention but ironically it is that rather tired and dog-eared Webster's that I have turned to the most in subsequent years.
I have recently been re-acquainting myself with the Dictionary entries for the letter Z with a view of comparing them with those in a contemporary dictionary to see what words have managed to survive the very fluid developments in language, have simply vanished from modern vocabulary or have been replaced by, mostly, slang and popular social media terminology.
Just for starters here is the 1866 section for the last letter of the alphabet.
Be aware that some descriptions may be seen, today, as offensive and discriminatory but are the original Webster offerings.
Zaccho- the lowest part of a pedestal or column
Zaffer- impure oxide of cobalt
Zambo-the child of an indian and a negro
Zamia- genus of plants similar to ferns and palms
Zamite- a fossil plant of the previous genus
Zany- a Merry Andrew or buffoon
Zanyism- as above
Zaphara- mineral used by potters to produce a sky blue colour
Zapote- Mexican fruit
Zarnich- name of native sulphurets including arsenic
Zax- slate cutting instrument
Zayat- resting place for travellers found in most Burmese villages
Zea- generic name for Maize
Zeal- passionate ardour
Zealed- filled with the passionate ardour
Zeal less- lacking the above
Zealot- someone with two of the above things, see Zealotical, Zealotry, Zealousness
Zebra- stripey african horse-like animal
Zebu- Term for an Indian Bull or common cow
Zechin- Italian gold coin
Zechstein- a magnesian limestone
Zed- a name of the letter Z
Zedoary- East Indies medicinal plant
Zein- gluten of maize
Zemindar- land holder in India
Zend- ancient language of Persia
Zendavesta- sacred book of the Zoroaster
Zenith- direct perpendicular line
Zeolite- mineral found in lavas and basalts
Zeolitic- as above
Zephyr- the west wind
Zerda- canine of Africa resembling a fox of jackal
Zero-nothing
Zest- piece of citrus peel or to heighten taste
Zeta- Greek letter or small closet or chamber for ventilation
Zetetic- solving problems
Zeticular- small withdrawing room
Zeugma- grammatical figure
Zibet- Indian animal like a weasel
Zigzag- having short turns
Ziment Water- liquid found in copper mines
Zinc- brilliant metallic element
Zincky- like zinc
Zion- a hill in Jerusalem
Zircon- silica containing mineral
Zizel- earless marmot
Zodiac- a broad circle in the heavens
Zohar- hebrew term for book on scripture
Zone- a girdle, also a division in the earth
Zonnar- belt or girdle to distinguish Levantine Jews and Christians
Zoographer- studier of animals
Zoolatry- worship of animals
Zoolite- fossil of animals
There are lots of other zoo prefixes
Zoril- South American skunk or striped polecat
Zounds- exclamation of anger or wonder
Zuffolo- small flute
Zumology- study of fermented liquors
Zurlite- Vesuvian mineral
Zygodactylous- toes in pairs such as found on woodpeckers, cuckoos
Zygomatic- bone in the head
Zymate- compound of the imaginary
Zymone- part of gluten in wheat
Zythepsary- a brewery
Zythum- a malt and wheat based drink
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ- the desired effect from reading the above.
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