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Zero is from the Arabic numbering system, and is derived from the Arabic word sifr, صفر .

2006-09-26 05:37:03 · answer #1 · answered by TJ 6 · 2 1

Original Name Of Zero

2017-01-09 20:16:31 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

Greek astronomers began to use the symbol O. There are many theories why this particular notation was used. Some historians favour the explanation that it is omicron, the first letter of the Greek word for nothing namely "ouden". Neugebauer, however, dismisses this explanation since the Greeks already used omicron as a number - it represented 70 (the Greek number system was based on their alphabet). Other explanations offered include the fact that it stands for "obol", a coin of almost no value, and that it arises when counters were used for counting on a sand board. The suggestion here is that when a counter was removed to leave an empty column it left a depression in the sand which looked like O.
Ptolemy in the Almagest written around 130 AD uses the Babylonian sexagesimal system together with the empty place holder O. By this time Ptolemy is using the symbol both between digits and at the end of a number and one might be tempted to believe that at least zero as an empty place holder had firmly arrived. This, however, is far from what happened. Only a few exceptional astronomers used the notation and it would fall out of use several more times before finally establishing itself. The idea of the zero place (certainly not thought of as a number by Ptolemy who still considered it as a sort of punctuation mark) makes its next appearance in Indian mathematics.

The scene now moves to India where it is fair to say the numerals and number system was born which have evolved into the highly sophisticated ones we use today. Of course that is not to say that the Indian system did not owe something to earlier systems and many historians of mathematics believe that the Indian use of zero evolved from its use by Greek astronomers. As well as some historians who seem to want to play down the contribution of the Indians in a most unreasonable way, there are also those who make claims about the Indian invention of zero which seem to go far too far. For example Mukherjee in [6] claims:-

... the mathematical conception of zero ... was also present in the spiritual form from 17 000 years back in India.

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/HistTopics/Zero.html

2006-09-26 10:48:54 · answer #3 · answered by Semiramis 4 · 0 0

ZERO IS DERIVED FROM THE ARABIC SIFR. FIRST USED AS A PLACE VALUE BY INDIANS IN IRAQ

2006-09-26 07:34:53 · answer #4 · answered by NANA 1 · 0 0

John Kerry?

2006-09-26 07:07:51 · answer #5 · answered by Iridium190 5 · 0 0

...nothing..!!!...
Nix
Nought
Zip
Zilch
Negative......and.....squat.
(well there are some Ozzy ones)...first one is real one..good luck

2006-09-26 05:47:52 · answer #6 · answered by ozzy chik... 5 · 0 0

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