zero (English)
Where does "zero" come from?
The English word 'zero' was collectively borrowed from Early Modern Spanish, Middle French, and Old Italian 'zero'[1]. These European terms trace back to Medieval Latin 'zēphirum', which was first used in 1202 by the Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci when borrowing from the Arabic word 'صِفْر' ('ṣifr'), meaning 'nothing' or 'cipher'[1][3]. The Arabic term itself was calqued from the Sanskrit word 'शून्य' ('śūnyá'), meaning 'void' or 'nothingness'[1], which ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root '*ḱówH-', meaning 'hollow'[2]. Through these linguistic transformations, zero shares a doublet relationship with the words 'cipher' and 'chiffre'.
Full etymology tree
- zero (English), 'The cardinal number occurring before one and that denotes no quantity or amount at all, represented in Arabic numerals as 0.'
- borrowed zero (Early Modern Spanish)
- inherited zephirum (Latin), 'zero'
- borrowed صفر (ṣifr) (Arabic), 'Safar, the second of the twelve months of the Muslim lunar calendar, each beginning with a new moon.'
- calque शून्य (śūnyá) (Sanskrit), 'zero'
- derived *ḱówH- (Proto-Indo-European)
- calque शून्य (śūnyá) (Sanskrit), 'zero'
- borrowed صفر (ṣifr) (Arabic), 'Safar, the second of the twelve months of the Muslim lunar calendar, each beginning with a new moon.'
- inherited zephirum (Latin), 'zero'
- borrowed zero (Middle French)
- inherited zephirum (Latin), 'zero'
- borrowed صفر (ṣifr) (Arabic), 'Safar, the second of the twelve months of the Muslim lunar calendar, each beginning with a new moon.'
- calque शून्य (śūnyá) (Sanskrit), 'zero'
- derived *ḱówH- (Proto-Indo-European)
- calque शून्य (śūnyá) (Sanskrit), 'zero'
- borrowed صفر (ṣifr) (Arabic), 'Safar, the second of the twelve months of the Muslim lunar calendar, each beginning with a new moon.'
- inherited zephirum (Latin), 'zero'
- borrowed zero (Italian), 'zero'
- inherited zephirum (Latin), 'zero'
- borrowed صفر (ṣifr) (Arabic), 'Safar, the second of the twelve months of the Muslim lunar calendar, each beginning with a new moon.'
- calque शून्य (śūnyá) (Sanskrit), 'zero'
- derived *ḱówH- (Proto-Indo-European)
- calque शून्य (śūnyá) (Sanskrit), 'zero'
- borrowed صفر (ṣifr) (Arabic), 'Safar, the second of the twelve months of the Muslim lunar calendar, each beginning with a new moon.'
- inherited zephirum (Latin), 'zero'
- borrowed zero (Early Modern Spanish)
Ancestors
- zephirum (Latin)
- शून्य (Sanskrit)
Cognates and doublets
- chiffre (English)
- cipher (English)
- zéro (French)
- cero (Spanish)
Descendants and derived words
- alef zero (English)
- big fat zero (English)
- care factor zero (English)
- cover zero (English)
- element zero (English)
- exceptional zero (English)
- give zero fucks (English)
- grade zero (English)
- ground-zero (English)
- identically zero (English)
- inbox zero (English)
- kilometer zero (English)
Sources
- zero (English) - Wiktionary
- शून्य (śūnyá) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary
- zephirum (Latin) - Wiktionary
- zero (Italian) - Wiktionary
- صفر (ṣifr) (Arabic) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris