null
Meaning
having no legal or binding force; invalid.
having or associated with the value zero.
a zero value or setting; nothing.
a condition of no signal or data.
Usage
the contract was declared null and void.
the result of the calculation was null.
the device returned a null value.
Etymology
the word "null" entered english in the mid-16th century from the latin adjective nullus, meaning 'none'. Nullus itself is a contraction of the phrase ne unus, literally 'not one'. this etymological construction directly informs its core modern meanings of 'zero', 'invalid', or 'non-existent'. the journey from the literal latin 'not one' to the abstract concepts of legal invalidity and mathematical zero demonstrates a clear semantic evolution based on the fundamental idea of absence.
Analysis
the word "null" is a simplex loanword from latin. it does not contain separable morphemes in modern english spelling.