Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for cipher on Thesaurus.com zero .any of the Arabic numerals or figures. Arabic numerical notation collectively. something of no value or importance. a person of no influence; nonentity. a secret method of writing, as by transposition or substitution of letters, specially formed symbols, or the like. Compare cryptography . writing done by such a method; a coded message. the key to a secret method of writing. a combination of letters, as the initials of a name, in one design; monogram. Show More
verb (used without object) to use figures or numerals arithmetically. to write in or as in cipher. Show More
to calculate numerically; figure. to convert into cipher. Show More
Also especially British cy·pher .
Origin of cipher 1350–1400; Middle English siphre < Medieval Latin ciphra < Arabic ṣifr empty, zero; translation of Sanskrit śūnyā empty
Related forms ci·pher·a·ble , adjective ci·pher·er , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for cipher nonentity ,
zip ,
nil ,
nobody ,
blank ,
squat ,
zilch ,
nothing ,
naught ,
nullity ,
nought ,
nada ,
zippo ,
count ,
resolve ,
compute ,
calculate ,
figure ,
reckon ,
break Examples from the Web for cipher Contemporary Examples of cipher He is a cipher who has reduced his own party to near-cipher status.
The Scientists profusely apologized when I left the table at which they had their Cipher .
But what of all those people watching at home, waiting for Ann to explain the cipher that is Mittens?
But Allen Barra says he remains a cipher for his actions off the field.
Near his body is a cipher with the digits of the Fibonacci sequence and amalgams referring to Leonardo da Vinci and his Mona Lisa.
Historical Examples of cipher Better be forty-four and yourself, than a cipher belonging to some body else.
He had been succeeded by MacMahon, a good, brave man, but a cipher .
He had received an elementary education; could read, write, and cipher .
No message in cipher , nor any that is at all questionable, must be sent or delivered.
I told you the truth when I said that the cipher letter was an enigma to me.
British Dictionary definitions for cipher a method of secret writing using substitution or transposition of letters according to a key a secret message the key to a secret message an obsolete name for zero (def. 1) any of the Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, etc, to 9) or the Arabic system of numbering as a whole a person or thing of no importance; nonentity a design consisting of interwoven letters; monogram music a defect in an organ resulting in the continuous sounding of a pipe, the key of which has not been depressed Show More
to put (a message) into secret writing (intr) (of an organ pipe) to sound without having the appropriate key depressed rare to perform (a calculation) arithmetically Show More
Word Origin for cipher C14: from Old French cifre zero, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic sifr zero, empty
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cipher n. late 14c., "arithmetical symbol for zero," from Old French cifre "nought, zero," Medieval Latin cifra , with Spanish and Italian cifra , ultimately from Arabic sifr "zero," literally "empty, nothing," from safara "to be empty;" loan-translation of Sanskrit sunya-s "empty." The word came to Europe with Arabic numerals. Originally in English "zero," then "any numeral" (early 15c.), then (first in French and Italian) "secret way of writing; coded message" (a sense first attested in English 1520s), because early codes often substituted numbers for letters. Klein says Modern French chiffre is from Italian cifra .
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v. "to do arithmetic" (with Arabic numerals), 1520s, from cipher (n.). Meaning "to write in code" is from 1560s. Related: Ciphered ; ciphering .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
