Zeros

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Zero \Ze"ro\, n.; pl. {Zeros}or {Zeroes}. [F. z['e]ro, from Ar.
     [,c]afrun, [,c]ifrun, empty, a cipher. Cf. {Cipher}.]
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     1. (Arith.) A cipher; nothing; naught.
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     2. The point from which the graduation of a scale, as of a
        thermometer, commences.
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     Note: Zero in the Centigrade, or Celsius thermometer, and in
           the R['e]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[deg] on the Fahrenheit scale. See Illust. of
           {Thermometer}.
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     3. Fig.: The lowest point; the point of exhaustion; as, his
        patience had nearly reached zero.
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     {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.
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