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• Author: Bruce R. Hopkins
• Profession: Leading authority on the law of tax-exempt organizations
• Pages: 467-468

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zamindar

A“zamindar”isatax collector; someone who au dits person s and extracts taxes from them.

Many employees of the IRS are thus “zamindars.” The term was developed to describe ocials

in precolonial India who had the responsibility for collecting real estate taxes in various tax

districts.

zeitgeist

The word “zeitgeist” means the spirit or out look of a society at a p articular tim e. A zeitgeist

can and often does change, however. For example, there aret hose of the view that the zeitgeist

relating to nonprot organizations,wh ere they were revered and championed, is e volving into

one where they are losing the luster that underlies their status as tax-exempt organizations

and, in certain instances, charitable done es.

zero hour

Theterm“zerohour”isusedtodescribeatimewhenadecisivechangeinthecourseofevents,

such as an IRS examination, is impending.

zeugma

A “zeugma”is a rhetorical language device in which a word is used to modify two or more other

words, although its use i s logically correct with only one. On o ccasion, a director of develop-

ment, having successfully designed and received a particularly creative and nancially advan-

tageous charitable gift, may witness a result that can be described as a “zeugma”: the donors

left the oces of the charitableorganization in high spirits and an expensive automobile.

zillionaire

A “zillionaire” is an individual who is extremely wealthy; these persons are of intense interest

to fundraisers.

zooks

A mild oath, frequently uttered upon receipt of correspondencef romthe IRS.

Bruce R. Hopkins’ Nonprot Law Dictionary, First Edition. Bruce R. Hopkins.

©2015 Bruce R. Hopkins. Published 2015 by John Wiley& S ons,Inc.