Where does “صِفر” come from?
صِفر (Arabic) comes from Latin cifra, from Arabic صِفْر, from Sanskrit शून्य, from Proto-Indo-European ḱówH-.
صِفر (Arabic): empty, void
Ancestry of “صِفر”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | cifra | numeral, cipher; zero |
| 2 | Arabic | صِفْر | zero, nothing, empty, void; nothing, cipher;... |
| 3 | Sanskrit | शून्य | zero; cipher, cypher; blank, deserted |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱówH- | — |