צ־פ־רص ف ر

ṣ-f-r “to be empty”

Arabic ṣifr 'empty' translated Sanskrit śūnya, the void sign. One route, through Latin zephirum and Italian, made zero; an older one, through Latin cifra, made cipher, first the zero sign and later any digit or code. The Hebrew letters only transcribe the Arabic root: Hebrew ṣ-p-r 'bird' is unrelated.

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Today2 of 2 words have reached English

30 hops. The slider moves through them evenly, so busy centuries get room.

Words from this root 2

zeroSanskrit → Arabic → Medieval Latin → Italian → Middle French → English
cipherArabic → Medieval Latin → Old French → Middle English → English

Relatives outside the atlas

Arabic	صِفْر	ṣifr	“zero; empty”
Arabic	صَفِرَ	ṣafira	“to be empty”
Arabic	صَفَر	Ṣafar	“the second month of the Islamic calendar”
Turkish	sıfır	sıfır	“zero”