Plural of zero; the numerical symbol 0 representing nothing or null value. Also refers to people or things of no importance or value.
From Arabic 'sifr' meaning 'empty, nothing', which passed through Medieval Latin 'zephirum' and Old French into English. The concept and symbol were transmitted from India through Islamic mathematics to Europe in the Middle Ages.
Zero is one of humanity's greatest mathematical innovations - ancient Greeks and Romans had no symbol for 'nothing'! The word traveled from Sanskrit 'śūnya' (void) through Arabic 'sifr' (giving us 'cipher') to become the foundation of modern mathematics and computing. Without zero, we couldn't have digital technology!
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