In tennis, the term "love" is used to represent a score of zero. This peculiar usage has an interesting etymology. The word "love" in this context is believed to have been derived from the French word "l'oeuf," which means "egg." The association comes from the visual resemblance between the number zero and the shape of an egg. When the score is at love, it's as if there's nothing, similar to how an empty egg carton is often referred to as being "eggless" in a colloquial sense. The sport of tennis has a rich history with the French language, and many terms used in the game have French origins. For example, the word "tennis" itself comes from the French word "tenez," which is an imperative form of the verb "tenir," meaning "to take" or "to hold," as in "take heed!" or "receive!" when starting a rally. read more >>

Many of the words used in Tennis today came from French Language. The word Love (for zero score) comes from French word l'oeuf - which means egg which is the shape of zero. The word Tennis itself originated from the French word tenez - which means to receive.read more >>