Nada

Part of speech: noun, interjection

Definitions

1. A term used to express nothingness or the absence of anything
2. denoting a lack of value or significance in a given context
3. commonly utilized in informal communication to indicate emptiness or negation

Etymology: Spanish "nada" means "nothing," and English borrowed it directly from that language, so the word arrived with its meaning intact. Its roots lie in Latin, where "nata" was a feminine form of the past participle of "nasci," "to be born." That Latin sense, "born" or "things born," is the same root that gave English "natal," "née," and "Noel," which is why the two are doublets: the same word that became "nada" in Spanish, through a different path, became "natal" and "Noel" in English. The jump from "things that have been born" to "nothing" is a long one, and the Spanish route that produced it is still a matter of scholarly debate.

Synonyms: nothing, zero, nil, null, zilch

Antonyms: something, everything, all