Origins of Mathematical Words: A Comprehensive Dictionary of Latin, Greek, and Arabic Roots

Z

345 Z z-axis The letter z is the Greek zeta. It is not a Latin letter and was used by the Romans only to transliterate the Greek zeta in words that they took over from the Greek language. zenith This is the metamorphosis of the Arabic construct phrase , which means the way overhead, from , the head, and , way. zero The infinitive şifr of the Arabic verb , which means to be empty, became the zephyrum of the medieval Latin translators, and zephyrum was mutilated into zero. ...