1
Stage 1 of 4
śūnya
Sanskrit · ancient
"void, empty"
the Indian mathematical concept of "void" or emptiness
2
Stage 2 of 4
ṣifr
Arabic · c. 800s
"empty, cipher"
translated the Sanskrit concept; also the root of "cipher"
3
Stage 3 of 4
zefiro
Italian · c. 1200s
"zero"
introduced to Europe through Fibonacci's writings on Arabic numerals
4
Stage 4 of 4
zero
English · c. 1600s
"the numeral zero"
shortened and adopted directly from Italian
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