Page "Odo (Star Trek)" Paragraph 2

One of " the hundred " sent out by The Founders long ago to explore the galaxy, Odo was found adrift in 2356 in the Denorios Belt by Bajorans.

It is unclear how long he had been adrift.

Since Odo had not yet learned how to morph into a humanoid appearance, he appeared in his natural gelatinous form.

Bajoran scientists, not sure of what Odo actually was, put him in a container and labeled it " unknown sample ".

The Cardassian overseers translated this into their own language as " odo ' ital ", which literally means " nothing ".

Even after it became clear that Odo was sentient, the scientists kept calling him that, giving him the name ' Odo Ital ' ( like a typical Bajoran name ), which was eventually shortened to simply " Odo " ( Episode " Heart of Stone ").