Where does “zen” come from?
zen (Middle English) comes from Old English synn, from Proto-West Germanic sunnju, from Proto-Germanic sunjō, from Proto-Indo-European h₁s-ónt-ih₂, from Proto-Indo-European h₁sónts, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ēs- — to be.
Ancestry of “zen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | synn | sin |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | sunnju | responsibility; care; concern; worry; anxiety |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | sunjō | truth, sooth; denial, protest |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁s-ónt-ih₂ | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁sónts | active participle of *h₁ésti; being, existence;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ēs- | to be |