Where does “zifer” come from?
zifer (Middle High German) comes from Old French cifre, from Latin cifra, from Arabic صِفْر, from Sanskrit शून्य, from Proto-Indo-European ḱówH-.
zifer (Middle High German): digit
Ancestry of “zifer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | cifre | — |
| 2 | Latin | cifra | numeral, cipher; zero |
| 3 | Arabic | صِفْر | zero, nothing, empty, void; nothing, cipher;... |
| 4 | Sanskrit | शून्य | zero; cipher, cypher; blank, deserted |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱówH- | — |
Words derived from “zifer”