[Ads-l] Zen

[Benjamin Barrett]

Outside of the religious meaning, I've never understood exactly what 
this word means, but Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zen) 
says the adjective means "extremely relaxed and collected," labeling it 
as colloquial, which seems like a good summation. Still, while there 
might be times when such usage is "colloquial," I think that label is 
overkill. (The Oxford Dictionary site has only the religious meaning.)

Beyond "extremely relaxed and collected," the ADS archives provides 
examples such as the following:

1. 
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2004-October/041447.html - 
Barry Popik citing the Daily Herald, 1989
About 20 years ago Guerard introduced (Col. 2--ed.) _cuisine minceur_, 
his spa cuisine, which brought instant fame. Then the less spartan but 
still lean _cousine nouvelle_ followed on ots heels, attaching to itself 
the fascination of East Asian cuisines: Zen-like plate design, certain 
ingredients and small portions attended this Eastern interest.

This seems to mean minimalist/simple + Asian(esque)

2. 
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2011-March/107472.html 
- Victor Steinbok
It sounds odd, but it's a very Zen comment.

This seems to mean koan-like: having a hidden meaning that is surprising 
when you find it. Is it possible that the series "Kung Fu" 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_%28TV_series%29) has an influence 
on this meaning?

3. 
http://www.americandialect.org/americandialectarchives/march98238.html - 
Karen Lubell, who cites John Algeo 1977
I have heard "zen moment"

Based on the other expressions listed, this seems to mean momentary 
memory loss.

4. http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2005-January.txt
There is a domain zen.co.uk

Presumably this is indicative of the cachet of the word "zen."

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There is also the soon-to-be-retired "moment of zen" by Jon Stewart at 
the end of his "The Daily Show," which perhaps could be summed as 
something odd. Perhaps this is a _spoof_ on the koan-like meaning in 2 
above. This usage also shows that a noun definition outside of the 
religious meaning is needed.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA

Learn Ainu! https://sites.google.com/site/aynuitak1/home

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org