zeugma (en)

(noun) the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one (as in “opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy”)

zhdanovshchina (en)

literally the “era of Zhdanov,” is the name given to the post-1945 purge conducted in the soviet union against intellectuals, artists, and writers, condemned for their supposed “bourgeois” sympathies

Zollverein (de)

(German Customs Union) a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories; formally established Jan 1 1834; by 1866, included most German states; lasted until the end of WWI

zoot suit (en)

a men's suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders

Émile Durkheim (en)

a French sociologist (1858-1917) who formally established the academic discipline and—with Karl Marx and Max Weber—is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science