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Ben vs Zen - What's the difference?

ben | zen |

As nouns the difference between ben and zen

is that ben is a prayer; a petition while Zen is a denomination of Buddhism elaborated in Japan.

As adjectives the difference between ben and zen

is that ben is inner, interior while Zen is extremely relaxed and collected.

As a preposition ben

is in, into.

As a proper noun Ben

is a diminutive of the male given name Benjamin or, less often, of Benedict.

ben

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) ben, bene, from (etyl) .

Alternative forms

*

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) A prayer; a petition.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) ben, bene, variation of bin, .

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • (Scotland, northern England) In, into.
  • * 2008 , (James Kelman), Kieron Smith, Boy , Penguin 2009, p. 32:
  • And he was waving to me to creep in, so I just did and then just to skip ben the front and then in the lobby.

    Adjective

  • Inner, interior.
  • Derived terms
    * ben-end, ben-room

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (Scotland, Northern England) Ben-room: The inner room of a two-room hut or shack (as opposed to the but).
  • Derived terms
    * but and ben

    Etymology 3

    Probably representing a North African pronunciation of (etyl)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A tree, Moringa oleifera or horseradish tree of Arabia and India, which produces oil of ben.
  • The winged seed of the ben tree.
  • The oil of the ben seed.
  • Synonyms
    * (tree) (l), (l), (l)
    Derived terms
    * ben-nut

    Etymology 4

    (etyl) .

    Alternative forms

    * Ben

    Noun

    (-)
  • (usually, capitalised) Son of (used with Hebrew and Arabic surnames).
  • Etymology 5

    From (etyl) beinn

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A Scottish or Irish mountain or high peak.
  • zen

    English

    (wikipedia Zen)

    Alternative forms

    * zen

    Noun

    (-)
  • (religion) A denomination of Buddhism elaborated in Japan.
  • (informal) A philosophy of calm, reminiscent of that of the Buddhist denomination.
  • Usage notes

    Usually capitalized in all senses, almost always when talking about the denomination proper (compare (Catholicism)), usually but less often when referring to a looser sense of the philosophy or calm: “That’s very zen.” versus “She studies Zen Buddhism.”

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (colloquial) Extremely relaxed and collected.
  • Anagrams

    * ----