Etymograph

English

Zen

Zen comes from Sanskrit ध्यान ‘a type of meditation’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂- ‘to perceive, see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyh₂-‘to perceive, see’reconstructed
  2. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEध्यैdhyai‘to contemplate, meditate, think of’
  3. Sanskrit, derivedc. 1500–500 BCEध्यानdhyāna‘a type of meditation’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1934Zen

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyh₂-‘to perceive, see’reconstructed
  2. Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEध्यैdhyai‘to contemplate, meditate, think of’
  3. Sanskrit, derivedc. 1500–500 BCEध्यानdhyāna‘a type of meditation’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1934Zen

Earliest quotation: 1934, Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism: “Hōyen... used to produce his own hand and ask…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂- ‘to perceive, see’

theatre, theater, 2 more

Today it means

name A school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by sudden enlightenment achieved by indirect means and principally associated with China and Japan.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂- / Zen

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