"Zero"

*Zero*, as is well known, is an Italian word signifying the arithmetical figure of nought (0). It has been conjectured that it is derived from the transposition from the Hebrew word *ezor*, a girdle, the zero assuming that form. (See Furetière, vol. iii.) Prof. le Moine, of Leyden (quoted by Ménage), claims for it also an Eastern origin, and thinks we have received it from the Arabians, together with their method of reckoning ciphers. He suggests that it may be a corruption from the Hebrew [Hebrew: rphs], *safara*, to number.