nul

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See also: nûl and ␀

Afrikaans

Afrikaans numbers (edit)
0 1  →  10  → 
    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

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” ”, in Ara‎:
      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

References

  1. ^ “nul”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024

Further reading

Danish

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Etymology

Danish numbers (edit)
0 1  → [a], [b] 10  → 
    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

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.
  • 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

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 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
      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
0 1  > 
    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

Numeral

nul

  1. zero, nought

Derived terms

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

Descendants

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

Adjective

nul (used only predicatively, not comparable)

  1. (archaic) nul, void
  2. worthless

Synonyms

Esperanto

Esperanto numbers (edit)
0 1  →  10  → 
    Cardinal: nul
    Ordinal: nula

Etymology

Back-formation from nulo.

Pronunciation

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

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

Derived terms

Further reading

Anagrams

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

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
    • → Dutch: nul
      • Afrikaans: nul
      • Javindo: nul
      • → Caribbean Javanese: nel
      • → 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

Romansch

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin nūllus.

Numeral

nul

  1. (Sursilvan) zero
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