Shoonya
/ˈʃuːn.jə/noun
A transliteration of Sanskrit śūnya, meaning empty, void, or zero, especially in Indian philosophy and spirituality.
Did you know?In Buddhist philosophy, śūnyatā—often translated as emptiness—does not mean absolute nothingness, but the absence of fixed, independent essence in all things.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Sanskrit
Sanskrit
śūnya
“Empty, hollow, vacant; later, the mathematical zero”
c. 5th Century BCE–5th Century CE
Sanskrit
śūnya
“A philosophical term for emptiness or absence, especially in Indian intellectual traditions”
5th–7th Century CE
Pali/Sanskrit
suñña / śūnya
“Empty or devoid; used in Buddhist teachings concerning the nature of reality”
7th Century CE
Sanskrit mathematics
śūnya
“Zero, used as a positional placeholder and number in Indian mathematical writing”
Medieval Period
Arabic
ṣifr
“Cipher or zero, translated from the Indian mathematical concept associated with śūnya”
Modern English
English
shoonya
“A modern transliteration used for the Sanskrit concept of emptiness, void, or zero”