Zero is the number that means none or nothing; it separates positive numbers from negative numbers. It is also used to show the starting point on many scales.
“Zero” comes from Italian “zero,” from Arabic “ṣifr,” meaning “empty” or “nothing,” which also gave us the word “cipher.” The idea and symbol of zero were developed in India and spread through the Arab world into Europe.
Zero is a surprisingly new invention in human history, and math exploded in power once it arrived. The same root that gave us ‘zero’ also gave us ‘cipher,’ reminding us that nothingness and secret codes are cousins in language.
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