Zeroing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Adjusting an instrument or measurement so that its reading corresponds to zero ; removing or cancelling a recorded value to bring a system or device back to an initial zero point
2. Calibrating a device to ensure that its output starts from zero ; resetting a data value or parameter to nullify previous data for accuracy or a fresh start
3. Setting the baseline of a measurement tool to null ; erasing or nullifying current numerical values to begin from zero again

Etymology: Zero is one of the few words in English whose history begins with a mathematical symbol rather than a sound. It came into English from Italian "zero" (also written "zefiro"), and it traces back through Medieval Latin to Arabic "sifr," meaning "empty" or "nothing," the same root that gave English "cipher." The Arabic term was itself a translation of the Sanskrit word for the empty place in a number, so the concept passed through several languages before reaching English. The verb "zeroing" is simply "zero" with the "-ing" ending, and it is recorded in English in its modern sense of setting an instrument or counter back to zero. Its use in military and technical settings, such as zeroing a rifle sight so that it hits the target at a known distance, grew from the number's meaning of a fixed starting point.

Synonyms: calibrating, aligning, setting, adjusting