Zero
Etymology: Italian
Definitions
1
ZE'RO , noun [Italian] Cipher; nothing. The point of a thermometer from which it is graduated. Zero, in the thermometers of Celsius and Reaumur, is at the point at which water congeals. The zero of Fahrenheit's thermometer is fixed at the point at which the mercury stands when immersed in a mixture of snow and common salt. In Wedgewood's pyrometer, the zero corresponds with 1077-° on Fahrenheit's scale.
Source: American Dictionary of the English Language (1828 Edition), MDX derived from public Internet Archive item. Private-use review; confirm rights before public redistribution