zero : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: zero	by the DICT Development Group
5 results for zero
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
zero adj indicating the absence of any or all units under consideration; "a zero score" Synonym(s): zero, 0 having no measurable or otherwise determinable value; "the goal is zero population growth" indicating an initial point or origin of or relating to the null set (a set with no members) n a quantity of no importance; "it looked like nothing I had ever seen before"; "reduced to nil all the work we had done"; "we racked up a pathetic goose egg"; "it was all for naught"; "I didn't hear zilch about it" Synonym(s): nothing, nil, nix, nada, null, aught, cipher, cypher, goose egg, naught, zero, zilch, zip, zippo a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number Synonym(s): zero, 0, nought, cipher, cypher the point on a scale from which positive or negative numerical quantities can be measured Synonym(s): zero, zero point the sight setting that will cause a projectile to hit the center of the target with no wind blowing v adjust (an instrument or device) to zero value adjust (as by firing under test conditions) the zero of (a gun); "He zeroed in his rifle at 200 yards" Synonym(s): zero, zero in
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Zero \Ze"ro\, n.; pl. {Zeros}or {Zeroes}. [F. z[82]ro, from Ar. [cced]afrun, [cced]ifrun, empty, a cipher. Cf. {Cipher}.] 1. (Arith.) A cipher; nothing; naught. 2. The point from which the graduation of a scale, as of a thermometer, commences. Note: Zero in the Centigrade, or Celsius thermometer, and in the R[82]aumur thermometer, is at the point at which water congeals. The zero of the Fahrenheit thermometer is fixed at the point at which the mercury stands when immersed in a mixture of snow and common salt. In Wedgwood's pyrometer, the zero corresponds with 1077[f8] on the Fahrenheit scale. See Illust. of {Thermometer}. 3. Fig.: The lowest point; the point of exhaustion; as, his patience had nearly reached zero. {Absolute zero}. See under {Absolute}. {Zero method} (Physics), a method of comparing, or measuring, forces, electric currents, etc., by so opposing them that the pointer of an indicating apparatus, or the needle of a galvanometer, remains at, or is brought to, zero, as contrasted with methods in which the deflection is observed directly; -- called also {null method}. {Zero point}, the point indicating zero, or the commencement of a scale or reckoning.
From Jargon File (4.2.0, 31 JAN 2000) [jargon]:
zero vt. 1. To set to 0. Usually said of small pieces of data, such as bits or words (esp. in the construction `zero out'). 2. To erase; to discard all data from. Said of disks and directories, where `zeroing' need not involve actually writing zeroes throughout the area being zeroed. One may speak of something being `logically zeroed' rather than being `physically zeroed'. See {scribble}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
ZERO An {object oriented} extension of {Z}. ["Object Orientation in Z", S. Stepney et al eds, Springer 1992]. [{Jargon File}] (1995-03-30)
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
zero 1. 0, {ASCI} character 48. Numeric zero, as opposed to the letter "O" (the 15th letter of the English alphabet). In their unmodified forms they look a lot alike, and various {kluges} invented to make them visually distinct have compounded the confusion. If your zero is centre-dotted and letter-O is not, or if letter-O looks almost rectangular but zero looks more like an American football stood on end (or the reverse), you're probably looking at a modern character display (though the dotted zero seems to have originated as an option on {IBM 3270} controllers). If your zero is slashed but letter-O is not, you're probably looking at an old-style {ASCII} graphic set descended from the default typewheel on the venerable {ASR-33} {Teletype} (Scandinavians, for whom slashed-O is a letter, curse this arrangement). If letter-O has a slash across it and the zero does not, your display is tuned for a very old convention used at {IBM} and a few other early mainframe makers (Scandinavians curse this arrangement even more, because it means two of their letters collide). Some {Burroughs}/{Unisys} equipment displays a zero with a reversed slash. And yet another convention common on early {line printers} left zero unornamented but added a tail or hook to the letter-O so that it resembled an inverted Q or cursive capital letter-O. [{Jargon File}] (1995-01-24) 2. To set to zero. Usually said of small pieces of data, such as bits or words (especially in the construction "zero out"). 3. To erase; to discard all data from. Said of disks and directories, where "zeroing" need not involve actually writing zeroes throughout the area being zeroed. One may speak of something being "logically zeroed" rather than being "physically zeroed". See {scribble}. (1999-02-07)