nul

See also: nu-l, nûl, and ␀

Afrikaans

Afrikaans numbers ^(edit)

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Cardinal: nul

Etymology

From Dutch nul, from Middle Dutch nul, from Middle French nul or Italian nulla, from Latin nūllus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nœl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Numeral

nul

1. zero

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nūllus (“none”). First attested in 1888.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈnul]

Adjective

nul (feminine nul·la, masculine plural nuls, feminine plural nul·les)

1. null, insignificant, negligible
   • 2020 August 8, Àlex Bustos, “Tres dones que aspiren a derrocar “l’últim dictador d’Europa” [Three women who aspire to take down "the last dictator in Europe"]”, in Ara‎^[1]:

     Bielorússia ha sigut l’únic país europeu que ha continuat vivint com si no hi hagués pandèmia. L’actuació del govern per combatre la malaltia ha sigut pràcticament nul·la.

     Belarus has been the only European country who has continued living as if there were no pandemic. The government's action to combat the disease has been practically null.

2. useless, inept

   Synonyms: inútil, inepte

3. null, void, invalid
4. null, absent, non-existent

   Synonyms: absent, inexistent

Related terms

• anul·lar

Further reading

• “nul” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “nul” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “nul” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Etymology

Danish numbers ^(edit)

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Cardinal: nul     Ordinal: nulte

From Italian nullo (“no, not any; null”) or French nul (“no, no one”), from Middle French nul (“nobody; no one”), from Old French nul (“nobody; no one”), both from Latin nūllus (“no one, none, not any”), from Proto-Italic *ne oinolos, from Proto-Italic *oinos (“one”), from Proto-Indo-European *óynos, perhaps from *éy (“he, she, it”) + *-nós (creates verbal adjectives).

The interjection, noun and pronoun are all derived from the numeral itself.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnol/, [ˈnɔl]

• Rhymes: -ɔl
• Hyphenation: nul

Numeral

nul

1. zero (the cardinal number occurring before one and that denotes no quantity or amount at all, represented in Arabic numerals as 0)

   nul huller og nul grader ― zero holes and zero degrees

   nul komma fem ― very short time; a moment

   patient nul ― patient zero

   • 1991, BT:

     Jeg knoklede og knoklede for at sælge biler. Men når året så var omme, kunne jeg kun præstere en fortjeneste på nul kroner

     I worked and worked hard to sell cars. But when the year was over, I could only make a profit of zero kroner

   • 1992, Bo Bedre:

     Ryglænet skubbes fremad, fjedermekanismen udløses, og i løbet af nul komma fem er sofaen forvandlet til seng

     The backrest is pushed forward, the spring mechanism is released, and during a short moment the sofa is turned into a bed

   • 2020, BT:

     Jhvad ved vi om selve virussens 'fødsel'? Og hvem er den såkaldte patient nul, der bar smitten som den første?

     what do we know about the 'birth' of the virus itself? And who is the so-called patient zero who carried the infection as the first?

   • 2017, Zetland:

     En fransk analyse af virussens DNA har via elegante teknikker fundet frem til udbruddets begyndelse, til patient nul

     A French analysis of the virus' DNA has, via elegant techniques, found the beginning of the outbreak, to patient zero

2. zero (the point on a scale at which numbering or measurement originates)

   Synonym: nulpunkt

   at være, gå eller stå på nul ― to be, go to or stay at zero

   • 1989, Ib Michael, Kilroy Kilroy:

     I cockpittets glasæg har alle instrumentvisere fundet sig et leje og dirrer omkring et punkt; kun brændstofmåleren falder langsomt tilbage mod nul

     In the glass egg of the cockpit, all instrument indicators have found a bearing and vibrate around a point; only the fuel gauge slowly drops back to zero

   • 1998, Berlingske Tidende:

     den økonomiske status for Danmark er ene og alene betalingsbalancen, og den er i nul

     the economic status of Denmark is solely the balance of payments, and it is at zero

Derived terms

• nulte (“zeroth”), nulstille (“reset”)

Interjection

nul

1. (colloquial) no way (absolutely not; under no circumstances)

   Synonyms: niks, nix, du kan tro nej

   nul Putte/putte ― used to reject something or someone

   • 1991, Weekendavisen:

     hun må da have en vilje og en karakter af jern. Flere gange har jeg tænkt: Nu må hun da bøje af, men nul!

     she must then have a will and a character of iron. Several times I have thought: Now she must bend down, but no way!

   • 1985, Klaus Lynggaard, Martin & Victoria:

     Jeg kunne selvfølgelig være gået på biblioteket igen, men hvis hun nu troede, at jeg fulgte efter hende? Ah-ah, nul putte, det indtryk skulle hun heller ikke få

     I could of course have gone to the library again, but what if she now thought I was following her? Ah-ah, whatever then, she shouldn't get that impression either

Noun

nul n (singular definite nullet, plural indefinite nuller)

1. the numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero.

   En million er et ettal med seks nuller efter.

   One million is a one followed by six zeros.

   Ganger vi med 100, sætter vi bare to nuller efter 53 og får så 5300.

   If we multiply by 100, we just put [place] two zeros after 53 and then get 5300.

2. zero (the number sign 0 as an expression of an assessment or a result)

   holde nullet ― keep the opponents from scoring during a football match

   • 1991, B.T.:

     Fru Boel Jørgensen leder ikke teatret! Det eneste hun gør, er at prøve at nå et nul i regnskabet inden udgangen af dette år

     Mrs. Boel Jørgensen does not lead the theater! All she does is try to reach a zero in the accounts before the end of this year

   • 2011, Nordjyske.dk:

     Thomas Sørensen holdt nullet i Stoke-sejr. Landsholdsmålmand Thomas Sørensen fik tiltrængt spilletid og holdt buret rent i Stokes 1-0-sejr over Thun

     Thomas Sørensen kept a clean sheet in Stoke's victory. National team goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen got much-needed playing time and kept the cage clean in Stokes' 1-0 victory over Thun

   • 1999, Politiken:

     Næstved holdt nullet i 68 minutter, så blev bolden hamret forbi Finn Jeppesen af Brøndbys 18-årige topscorer: Michael Laudrup

     Næstved held zero for 68 minutes, then the ball was hammered past Finn Jeppesen by Brøndby's 18-year-old top scorer: Michael Laudrup

   • 2000, Politiken:

     Den debuterende målmandsreserve stod en brandkamp og holdt nullet i en for hans vedkommende travl affære

     The debutant goalkeeper reserve stood a great match and kept zero in a busy affair for him

3. (figuratively) a nobody, a nonentity

   Synonym: nullert

   • 1984, Frank Jensen, Organisationen:

     Han var, rent ud sagt, en lille lort, halvdranker, halvjunkie, småtyv – der altid blev taget. Et nul

     He was, quite frankly, a little shit, half-drunk, half-junkie, petty thief - who was always taken. A nobody

4. (in the plural) 2000s (the first decade of the 21st century)

Declension

Declension of nul

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	nul	nullet	nuller	nullerne
genitive	nuls	nullets	nullers	nullernes

Descendants

• → Icelandic: núll

Pronoun

nul (uninflected)

1. (determiner) no, nothing

   Synonyms: ingen, intet

   nul og niks ― absolutely nothing; meaningless, worthless

   • 1991, B.T.:

     sigtbarheden var lig nul, men alligevel fortsatte vi med at lede sammen med de øvrige skibe i området i adskillige timer

     visibility was zero, but still we continued to lead with the other ships in the area for several hours

   • 1998, Sven Bugtrup, Nu får jeg tid til kærlighed:

     [han] er klar til at betale prisen. Ingen kærester, nul spiritus, sund mad og tidligt i seng

     [he] is ready to pay the price. No girlfriends, zero booze, healthy food and early to bed

   • 1986, Femina:

     da jeg vågnede søndag morgen, var der nul og niks tilbage af min energi fra dagen før

     when I woke up Sunday morning, there was absolutely nothing left of my energy from the day before

   • 1991, B.T.:

     Hvad med landsholdet? "I den sammenhæng har jeg altid været nul og niks .."

     What about the national team? "In that context, I have always been worthless .."

Dutch

Dutch cardinal numbers

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Cardinal : nul     Ordinal : nulde

Etymology

From Middle Dutch nul, from Middle French nul, from Old French nul, nulle (modern French nul) or Italian nulla, from Latin nūlla, from Latin nūllus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nʏl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nul
• Rhymes: -ʏl

Numeral

nul

1. zero, nought

Derived terms

• nulbak
• nulbelasting
• nulcirkel
• nulde
• nulklem
• nullast
• nulleider
• nulles
• nullijn
• nulmeridiaan
• nulmethode
• nulnummer
• nuloplossing
• nulpunt
• nulrelatie
• nulrente
• nulspanning
• nulstand
• nulvector
• nulwaarde

 

Noun

nul m (plural nullen, diminutive nulletje n)

1. (mathematics) a zero, naught, the numerical expression of none, nothing
2. (figuratively) a score of zero, the worst possible result
3. (figuratively) a good-for-nothing, worth-/use-less person

Related terms

• annuleren (verb)
• nihil
• nullificeren
• nulliteit

Descendants

• Afrikaans: nul
• Javindo: nul
• → Caribbean Javanese: nel
• → Indonesian: nol
• → Papiamentu: nulo

Adjective

nul (used only predicatively, not comparable)

1. (archaic) nul, void
2. worthless

Synonyms

• (void) ongeldig
• (worthless) waardeloos

Esperanto

Esperanto numbers ^(edit)

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Cardinal: nul     Ordinal: nula

Etymology

Back-formation from nulo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nul]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nul

Numeral

nul

1. zero

   Akvo glaciiĝas je nul celsiaj gradoj.

   Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius.

Usage notes

Can be used with both singular and plural nouns. (E.g. “zero dollars” can be both “nul dolaro” or “nul dolaroj”.) There is no formal standard for grammatical plurality of numbers between -1 and 1.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French nul, from Old French nul, from Latin nūllus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nyl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Determiner

nul (feminine nulle)

1. (indefinite, singular only) no, none

Usage notes

• The plural forms nuls and nulles as determiners are archaic.

Adjective

nul (feminine nulle, masculine plural nuls, feminine plural nulles)

1. of poor quality, lousy, rubbish
2. lame

Noun

nul m (plural nuls, feminine nulle)

1. (colloquial) a completely unskilled person
2. (sports) a draw

Pronoun

nul m (feminine nulle)

1. (literary) no one, nobody

Synonyms

• personne

Derived terms

• annuler
• jeu à somme nulle
• match nul
• nul à chier
• nul de chez nul
• nul et non avenu
• nul n’est censé ignorer la loi
• nul n’est parfait
• nul n’est prophète en son pays
• nulle part
• nullement
• nullifier
• nullité

 

Further reading

• “nul”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• l’un

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French nul, from Latin nūllus.

Pronoun

nul

1. nobody; no one
   • 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac, page 65:

     nul ne le povoit mieulx faire

     nobody could do it better

Adjective

nul m (feminine singular nulle, masculine plural nuls, feminine plural nulles)

1. none (not any)

Descendants

• French: nul
• → English: null

Old French

Etymology

From Latin nūllus.

Pronoun

nul (singular, nominative nus or nuls)

1. nobody; no one

Adjective

nul m (oblique and nominative feminine singular nule)

1. none (not any)

Descendants

• Middle French: nul
  • French: nul
  • → English: null
  • → Dutch: nul
    • Afrikaans: nul
    • Javindo: nul
    • → Caribbean Javanese: nel
    • → Indonesian: nol
    • → Papiamentu: nulo

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French nul.

Adjective

nul m or n (feminine singular nulă, masculine plural nuli, feminine and neuter plural nule)

1. null, insignificant
2. worthless, incompetent (of people or actions)

   Este nul la matematica. ― He/she is a zilch at mathematics.

3. (mathematics) null, zero

   Antonym: nenul

4. (law) null, void (holding no legal power)

Declension

Declension of nul

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	nul		nulă	nuli	nule
	definite	nulul		nula	nulii	nulele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	nul		nule	nuli	nule
	definite	nulului		nulei	nulilor	nulelor

Derived terms

• nenul

Romansch

Alternative forms

• nulla (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan)
• nola, nula (Sutsilvan)
• nolla (Surmiran, Puter, Vallader)

Etymology

From Latin nūllus.

Numeral

nul

1. (Sursilvan) zero