Where does “zero” come from?

zero (English) comes from Middle French zero, from Italian Zero, from New Latin zerum, from Medieval Latin zephirum, from Arabic صِفْر, from Sanskrit शून्य, from Proto-Indo-European ḱówH-.

zero (English): The cardinal number occurring before one and that...

Definitions

  1. The cardinal number occurring before one and that...

Ancestry of “zero”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchzero—
2ItalianZerozero
3New Latinzerum—
4Medieval Latinzephirumzero
5Arabicصِفْرzero, nothing, empty, void; nothing, cipher;...
6Sanskritशून्यzero; cipher, cypher; blank, deserted
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱówH-—

Words derived from “zero”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱówH- →