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Wumbo
wumbo.net › symbols › empty-set
Empty Set Symbol (∅)
The 0 (zero) symbol is used in math to represent the number zero or nothing. ... An empty set, also called the null set, is respresented as a zero with a diagonal line through it or as an empty pair of curly braces.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/mathematics › what letter is the empty set symbol ∅ to you?
r/mathematics on Reddit: What letter is the empty set symbol ∅ to you?
April 7, 2024 - So, the empty set symbol its own thing, it's not phi, it's not a slashed O... it's an empty set symbol.
Discussions

elementary set theory - Is there a recommended symbol for the empty set? - Mathematics Stack Exchange
The symbols $\varnothing$ (\varnothing) and $\emptyset$ (\emptyset) are both used for the empty set. Is there an official standard that recommends which one we should use? More on math.stackexchange.com
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elementary set theory - Name of symbol of null set. - Mathematics Stack Exchange
What is the name of the symbol we use for empty set? Difference in notation of phi and void set? I found that symbols that we use for both are different but I know the name phi only. Not know the n... More on math.stackexchange.com
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September 17, 2015
Do ∅ and Φ both mean null set in set theory?
Generally speaking, the first is the empty set and the second is phi, whatever that means in context. Often, when typesetting functionality is limited, phi is used to refer to the empty set — since using the conventional symbol might be very difficult or impossible. More on reddit.com
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April 22, 2023
elementary set theory - Which symbol should be used for an empty set? - Mathematics Stack Exchange
After all the empty set has all kinds of relations with the number $0$, but none with the letter O. (By contrast big-Oh and little-o symbols derive from the word "order".) The symbol has absolutely no relation (apart from appearance) with the lower-case Greek letter phi, with typographical variants $\phi$ and $\varphi$. ... The null ... More on math.stackexchange.com
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August 21, 2012
People also ask

What is a null or empty set?
A set which does not contain any element is called the empty set or the null set or the void set.
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byjus.com
byjus.com › maths › empty-set
Empty Set
What is an empty set example?
The set of natural numbers less than 1 is an empty set since the natural numbers start from 1, and hence, there will be no elements in the required set.
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byjus.com
byjus.com › maths › empty-set
Empty Set
What is an example of the empty set?
The empty set is the set that contains zero elements. A usual set contains elements: A={1, 2, 3} is a non-empty set. An empty set would look like: {}. There are no elements inside the brackets so this set is "empty".
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study.com
study.com › math courses › precalculus: high school
Empty Set | Definition & Symbol - Lesson | Study.com
symbol denoting the empty set
The null sign (∅) is a symbol often used in mathematics for denoting the empty set. The same letter in linguistics represents zero, the lack of an element. It is commonly used … Wikipedia
Factsheet
Unicode character
Factsheet
Unicode character
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Null_sign
Null sign - Wikipedia
3 hours ago - The null sign () is a symbol often used in mathematics for denoting the empty set. The same letter in linguistics represents zero, the lack of an element. It is commonly used in phonology, morphology, and syntax. The symbol is available at Unicode point U+2205.
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Empty_set
Empty set - Wikipedia
February 4, 2026 - Common notations for the empty set include "{ }", " ... {\displaystyle \emptyset } ", and "∅". The latter two symbols were introduced by the Bourbaki group (specifically André Weil) in 1939, inspired by the letter Ø (U+00D8 Ø LATIN CAPITAL ...
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BYJUS
byjus.com › maths › empty-set
Empty Set
As we know, the outcomes of rolling a die are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Thus, the set with numbers greater than 6 here will be { }. That means there will be no elements and is called the empty set.
Published   May 18, 2022
Views   31K
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Study.com
study.com › math courses › precalculus: high school
Empty Set | Definition & Symbol - Lesson | Study.com
September 1, 2015 - All of these empty set symbols represent the empty set. Moreover, sometimes the empty set is called the null set. However, the null set is a distinction made in measure theory to indicate a set of measure zero.
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Cuemath
cuemath.com › algebra › empty-set
Empty Set - Definitions, Properties, Examples | Null Set
A set that does not contain any element is called an empty set or a null set. An empty set is denoted using the symbol ''. It is read as 'phi'. Example: Set X = {}. It is also called a void set or null set.
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Aphtech
uebmath.aphtech.org › lesson7.0
Lesson 7.0: Set Notation: Complements and Subsets
The symbol for a subset (contained in or equal to) ⊆, is the subset symbol with a horizontal line displayed beneath it. The symbol for contained in or equal to is three cells; dots four five six in the first cell, dots four five in the second cell, and dots one two six in the third cell. ... The empty or null set denoted by ∅, is also a subset of any given set.
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CK-12 Foundation
ck12.org › all subjects › cbse math › sets and its types › what is a null set in maths?
What is a null set in maths? - Symbol & Definition | CK-12 Foundation
September 11, 2025 - In mathematics, a null set, also known as an empty set, is a set that contains no elements. It is denoted by the symbol @$\begin{align*}\emptyset\end{align*}@$ or @$\begin{align*}\{\}\end{align*}@$. For example, the set of all integers that are both even and odd is a null set, because no integer ...
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Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-name-of-the-symbol-used-for-expressing-empty-sets
What is the name of the symbol used for expressing empty sets? - Quora
Answer: It’s called the “empty set symbol.” I wish I could give you some cool name like “octothorpe”, but it was based on the letter Ø from Danish, where it is a Close-mid front rounded vowel and “the name of this letter is the same as the sound it represents” [1]. The first ...
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Unicode Compart
compart.com › en › unicode › U+2205
“∅” U+2205 Empty Set Unicode Character
U+2205 is the unicode hex value of the character Empty Set. Char U+2205, Encodings, HTML Entitys:∅,∅,∅, UTF-8 (hex), UTF-16 (hex), UTF-32 (hex)
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Empty Set - YouTube
📝 Find more here: https://tbsom.de/s/aoms👍 Support the channel on Steady: https://steadyhq.com/en/brightsideofmathsOther possibilities here: https://tbsom....
Published   December 2, 2022
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TechTarget
techtarget.com › whatis › definition › data-set
What is a null set in mathematics?
[ "row-frzi_7bar_4cbg", "00000000-0000-0000-AF08-C339B5581012", 0, 1698955938, null, 1698955938, null, "{ }", "172653", "375", "Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)", "Mean", "ppb", "UHF34", "203", "Bedford Stuyvesant – Crown Heights", "Annual Average 2011", "2010-12-01T00:00:00", "25.30", null ]
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SplashLearn
splashlearn.com › home
Empty Set: Definition, Properties, Notation, Symbol, Examples
February 5, 2024 - Therefore, it is not an empty set. Attend this quiz & Test your knowledge. ... Correct answer is: zero Null set or empty set is a set which does not contain any element.
Top answer
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I would say the following should be not too controversial:

  • $\emptyset$ and $\varnothing$ are typographical variants of the same mathematical symbol designating the empty set

  • The symbol was introduced by Bourbaki, was inspired by the Norwegian character Ø, but is a distinct character from it

  • The intention was most probably to create a symbol related to $0$ (zero), not to O (Oh), distinguished from it by striking it through. After all the empty set has all kinds of relations with the number $0$, but none with the letter O. (By contrast big-Oh and little-o symbols derive from the word "order".)

  • The symbol has absolutely no relation (apart from appearance) with the lower-case Greek letter phi, with typographical variants $\phi$ and $\varphi$.

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There is a webpage where you can find mention of this: http://jeff560.tripod.com/set.html

Here's an extract

The null set symbol (Ø) first appeared in N. Bourbaki Éléments de mathématique Fasc.1: Les structures fondamentales de l'analyse; Liv.1: Theorie de ensembles. (Fascicule de resultants) (1939): "certaines propriétés... ne sont vraies pour aucun élément de E... la partie qu’elles définissent est appelée la partie vide de E, et designée par la notation Ø." (p. 4.)

André Weil (1906-1998) says in his autobiography that he was responsible for the symbol:

Wisely, we had decided to publish an installment establishing the system of notation for set theory, rather than wait for the detailed treatment that was to follow: it was high time to fix these notations once and for all, and indeed the ones we proposed, which introduced a number of modifications to the notations previously in use, met with general approval. Much later, my own part in these discussions earned me the respect of my daughter Nicolette, when she learned the symbol Ø for the empty set at school and I told her that I had been personally responsible for its adoption. The symbol came from the Norwegian alphabet, with which I alone among the Bourbaki group was familiar.

The citation above is from page 114 of André Weil's The Apprenticeship of a Mathematician, Birkhaeuser Verlag, Basel-Boston-Berlin, 1992. Translated from the French by Jennifer Gage. The citation was provided by Julio González Cabillón.

You should also note that Nicolas Bourbaki is a collective pseudonym for a group of French-speaking mathematicians.

Concerning your question, I remember one of my math professor telling us that in fact, it was a claim by both André Weil and Claude Chevalley, but I can't find the citation for Chevalley.


I've found also this lecture about history of math from a Canadian University (in French), where this issue is mentioned: http://www.mat.ulaval.ca/fileadmin/Cours/MAT-2500/Bourbaki.pdf

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HotSymbol
hotsymbol.com › symbol › empty-set
∅ Empty Set copy and paste - HotSymbol
Once you release the Alt key, the symbol will be displayed. This trick will work for other special characters also. To add the Empty Set in HTML, you can use an HTML entity, an HTML code(decimal), and a Hex code.