Etymology

zoom

Z10O1O1M3

Today it means: A humming noise from something moving very fast. Full definition →

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zoom · noun, verb, interjection1

Uncertain. The verb was first attested c. 1892, as a noun in 1918 and as an interjection in 1942. Apparently related to Scots soom (“to buzz, hum”), dialectal English and Scots soom, swoom, sweem (“to spin or twirl at high speed”). Compare also dialectal English sweem (“to swoon, become dizzy or faint”).

zoom · verb, noun2

A genericization of the trademark Zoom, a video teleconferencing software.

Zoom · verb, noun3

From Zoom, a videoconferencing software by Zoom Video Communications; renamed as such (from Saasbee) in May 2012 by Jim Scheinman after the American children's book Zoom City (1998) by Thacher Hurd for ostensibly encapsulating creativity, happiness and exploration. Scheinman had "been saving the name Zoom for a long time."

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.