Nullte

Nullte is the German ordinal corresponding to zero, used to designate the position of an element in a sequence or list when indexing begins at zero. The term derives from Null meaning zero and the ordinal suffix -te. In German-language mathematics and computer science texts, the Nullte element or Nulltes Glied refers to the item in index 0, for example in a sequence a0, a1, a2, the Nullte Element would be a0. The concept is part of zero-based indexing, a convention in which the first element has index 0 rather than 1. In English, the equivalent term is zeroth; Nullte is primarily encountered in German-language sources, translations, or discussions of German conventions.

Usage notes: The necessity of naming the zero-th element varies by field, but in computer science and algorithms, zero-based indexing is common, which makes references to the Nullte appear frequently in German explanations of arrays and recurrence relations. In formal mathematical writing, the terminology may be less standardized, and writers may prefer to say a0 or the term with index 0 rather than Nullte Term.

Limitations: The term does not designate a distinct mathematical object by itself; it names a position in an indexed collection. The use of Nullte can differ across contexts and publications.

See also: zeroth term; zero-based indexing; ordinal numbers in German; Null.