zen

zen

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Zenaga.

• Zen

From Zen. In more general use, popularized by Eugen Herrigel's 1948 Zen in the Art of Archery and Robert M. Pirsig's 1974 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn

zen (uncountable)

1. (religion) Synonym of enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation.
2. An approach to instruction, understanding, or an activity similarly emphasizing simplicity and intuition rather than conventional thinking or fixation on goals.

   the zen of cooking

   the zen of passing the bar exam

   the zen of C++

• (a simple & intuitive method reflecting supposed Eastern wisdom): tao

zen (comparative more zen, superlative most zen)

1. (religion) Alternative letter-case form of Zen: of or related to Zen Buddhism, particularly its focus on indirect teaching of wisdom through riddles and stories.
   • 2006 Oct. 1, Dennis Lehane, "Refugees", The Wire, 00:37:10:

     Greggs: You hung over? Just sayin', you look like shit.
     Moreland: You know what you need at a crime scene?
     Greggs: Rubber glove?
     Moreland: Soft eyes.
     Greggs: Like I'm s'posed to cry an' shit?
     Moreland: You got soft eyes, you can see the whole thing. You got hard eyes? You starin' at the same tree, missin' the forest.
     Greggs: Ah. Zen shit.
     Moreland: Soft eyes, grasshopper.

2. (colloquial) Wise, displaying enlightenment or similar wisdom, insightful, unburdened and free of worries, extremely relaxed and capable.

• “zen”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• Enz, NZE

zen

1. fishhook

Related to Persian زن (zan).

• IPA^(key): /zɛn/

zen

1. woman

• Otto Ladstätter, Andreas Tietze, Die Abdal (Äynu) in Xinjiang (1994)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -en
• Hyphenation: zen

zen (masculine allocutive zuan, feminine allocutive zunan)

1. Third-person singular (hura) past indicative form of izan.

zen

1. Short form of zendu (“to pass away”).

From Japanese 禅(ぜん) (zen), from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen), an abbreviation of 禪那 (MC dzyen na), from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “a type of meditation”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɛn], [ˈdsɛn]

zen

1. Synonym: zenbuddhisme

   1. (figuratively) serenity, tranquillity, calm state of mind (in your everyday life)

• zenbuddhist
• zenbuddhistisk

• “zen” in Den Danske Ordbog

From Japanese 禅(ぜん) (zen).

• IPA^(key): /ˈzen/, [ˈze̞n]
• IPA^(key): /ˈtsen/, [ˈts̠e̞n]
• Rhymes: -en
• Syllabification^(key): zen
• Hyphenation^(key): zen

zen

1. zen

• “zen”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 4 July 2023

• IPA^(key): /zɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn

zen m (plural zen)

1. zen

zen (invariable)

1. (relational) zen
2. (colloquial) extremely relaxed and collected

• “zen”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• nez

• IPA^(key): /zɛ̃/

zen

1. fishhook

From Japanese 禅 (ぜん, zen), from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen), from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “a type of meditation”).

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈzen/ [ˈzen]
• Rhymes: -en
• Syllabification: zen

zén

1. (religion) a denomination of Buddhism

• “zen” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

zen

1. Rōmaji transcription of ぜん

zen

1. nonstandard spelling of zēn
2. nonstandard spelling of zěn
3. nonstandard spelling of zèn

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

zen

1. (Kent) alternative form of synne

Borrowed from Japanese 禅, from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen).

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: zen

zen m inan or zen n (indeclinable)

1. zen (denomination of Buddhism)

Masculine inanimate:

This word is indeclinable when used as a neuter noun.

• zen in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• zen in Polish dictionaries at PWN

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ẽj̃

zen m (uncountable)

1. Zen
   1. (religion) denomination of Buddhism
   2. (informal) philosophy

zen (invariable)

1. zen
   1. (religion) pertaining to the Zen denomination of Buddhism
   2. (informal) extremely relaxing
2. (informal, of a person) calm, peaceful, not easily angered

• IPA^(key): /ˈθen/ [ˈθẽn] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈsen/ [ˈsẽn] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -en
• Syllabification: zen

zen (invariable)

1. zen

zen m (uncountable)

1. zen

• “zen”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Borrowed from German Zinder, French cendre and English cinder.

• IPA^(key): /t͡sen/

zen (nominative plural zens)

1. ash, cinder
   • 1952, Epistle to the Hebrews, 9.13,14, translated by Arie de Jong.

     If ya blud toras e hikaparas, e zen kunüla, kel pagifülon ad klinükön koapi, saludükon profenanis,
     vio mödikumo blud Kristusa, kel ededietom oki dub Lanal laidüpik nenmiotädiko Gode, oklinükon konsieni obsik de vobots deadik, ad kultön Godi liföl.

     If the blood of bulls and billies, and the ashes of heifers, which is sprinkled to clean the body, already sanctifies profane people,
     how much more will the blood of Christ, who gave himself unblemished to God because of the eternal Spirit, clean our conscience from dead deeds to worship the living God.