Where does “nil-” come from?

nil- (English) comes from Latin nīl, from Sanskrit नील, from Proto-Indo-European neyH- — to lead.

nil- (English): Used for the digit zero to form systematic element names of elements whose existence has been predicted, and which have not yet been given a trivial name

Definitions

  1. Used for the digit zero to form systematic element names of elements whose existence has been predicted, and which have not yet been given a trivial name

Ancestry of “nil-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinnīl—
2Sanskritनीलof a dark color
3Proto-Indo-EuropeanneyH-to lead

Words derived from “nil-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European neyH- →Every word from Sanskrit नील →Every word from Latin nīl →