Schweizerisches Idiotikon, XVII, Heft 222

Issue 222, the first delivery of Volume 17, contains all words that consist either solely of Z or of Z plus a vowel (without a consonant immediately following it). It begins with the letter Z, under which composition ZüriZ we encounter a practice that has thankfully long since passed: Around 1865, it was said of someone who received the Zürcher 'criminal stamp', a 'Z', for theft that he had 'Zürizätt' burned on his back. A Z then expresses astonishment (Z! that's fatal!), affirmation (Z, I know it), or, when clicked, disapproval (Z z z! There's no such thing!). Repeated z, za, zä, zi, zie, zo, zu, zui, or zü functions as a call: Cats are called with chumm, zi zi zi, calves and foals with zie zie zie, goats with o za za za za, sheep with zä zä zä, and pigs respond to zu zu züüli. Commonly, the cat itself is also referred to in child language as Zi.