Glossary — Z

Glossary terms beginning with Z.

zaibatsu: Literally, ""wealth group."" Zaibatsu were powerful industrial or financial combines that merged during the Meiji era and were implicated in the militarist regimes of the 1930s and 1940s. They were an amalgamation of sometimes hundreds of businesses controlled by a holding company owned by a single family. The major zaibatsu were Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumimoto, and Yasuda. The zaibatsu were abolished in 1945 and 1946. After 1947, numerous companies formerly controlled by zaibatsu came together as keiretsu (enterprise groups)--conglomerates no longer controlled by a single family and whose individual member companies had greater autonomy than they had had as part of a zaibatsu.
zaim (pl., zuama): Believed to be a vestige of feudal times, the zaim (Arabic for leader) is a political leader, either an officeholder or a power broker, whose followers are usually of the same religious sect. Within his district, the zaim is all powerful, and his clients promise electoral loyalty in exchange for favors.
zakat: Islamic system of social welfare based on an alms tax on wealth held more than a year.
zamindar: Landlord, but particularly of the group of landlords and the zamindar system that emerged after the British Permanent Settlement (Landlease) Act of 1793. In essence, the former tax collectors of the Mughal period (1526-1858) became landlords under the British. Zamindar tenure was abolished in 1950.; Source: Library of Congress
zamindar(s): Landlord, but particularly the group of landlords and the zamindar system that emerged after the British Permanent Settlement (Landlease) Act of 1793. In essence, the former revenue collectors of the Mughal period (1526-1858) became landlords under the British.
zawiya (pl. zawaayaa): Lodge containing mosque, school, and quarters for the ikhwan (q.v.) of a religious order.
zemecha: Amharic for ""campaign,"" in the military sense; popular term used to denote the military government’s Development Through Cooperation Campaign, which was launched as part of the initial land reform in 1975. Early implementation included forced mobilization of university and secondary school students to explain the socialist revolution, including land reform, to peasants and to improve their traditionally low literacy rate. The term ""green"" zemecha was used to describe the agricultural aspects of the National Revolutionary Development Campaign in 1979.
zila: See district.; Source: Library of Congress
zloty: Polish national currency (Polish spelling zloty) nominally divided into 100 groszy. Became convertible with Western currencies January 1, 1990. In March 1990, US$1 equalled 9,824 zloty; in March 1991, the exchange rate was US$1=9,520 zloty; in March 1993, it was US$1=16,330 zloty.
Zoroastrianism: Religion founded in the sixth century B.C. by the Iranian prophet Zoroaster. With monotheistic and dualistic aspects, it influenced subsequently founded religions, including Christianity and Islam. Now practiced most widely by Persian immigrants in India.