kaizen

Meanings

Noun

• A Japanese business practice of continuous improvement in performance and productivity.
• Continuous improvement generally.

Verb

• To apply continuous improvement to (a task, or the worker who performs it).

Origin

• From Japanese 改善 (kaizen かいぜん), from Middle Chinese 改善 (kój-dʒjén) (compare Mandarin gǎishàn 改善), from Old Chinese 改善 (*qˁəʔ-ɡenʔ "to correct errors"), from 改 ("to change") + 善 ("good").
• Introduced to English in 1959 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente in his book Japanese Etiquette and Ethics in Business.