nihilum

Etymology
of la; both the lack of elision of the first vowel and the shortening of the second are unexpected.

Noun

 * 1) nothing
 * Et possidebunt illam onocrotalus et ericius et ibis et corvus habitabunt in ea et extendetur super eam mensura ut redigatur ad nihilum et perpendiculum in desolationem
 * The bittern and ericius shall possess it: and the ibis and the raven shall dwell in it: and a line shall be stretched out upon it, to bring it to nothing, and a plummet, unto desolation. Isaias 34:11.
 * 1) (of) no value

Usage notes

 * The nominative/accusative singular form is far less frequent overall than the indeclinable . The form nihilum occurs especially as the object of the preposition ad or in, where it has the sense "nothing(ness)", while  appears more often without a preposition, and tends instead to have the sense of a negative indefinite pronoun "not anything". But there are rare examples where nihilum is used without a preposition and has the sense "not anything".
 * The genitive is only used in Classical Latin as a genitive of value, with the sense "worthless".
 * The ablative form is often used as an adverb, particularly as part of the phrase nihilō minus "none the less" (also written as one word ).
 * No plural forms are attested in Classical Latin. The forms (nom./acc./voc.),  (gen.),  (dat./abl.) are attested in postclassical philosophical or mathematical texts.