Where does “zero” come from?

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

Ancestry of “zero”, step by step

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

Words derived from “zero”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱówH- →