Emily Dickinson Lexicon

zero (zeroes), n. [Fr. or It. zero < Ar. cifra, arithmetic symbol meaning zero, nought, empty, void; trans. < Sanscrit.]

Cipher; zed; nothing; naught; [metaphor] cold; frigid weather; temperature below freezing; [fig.] death; rigor mortis; point at which blood congeals; lack of living body warmth.