cipher

noun

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.

Relevant Questions

How To Block Ciphers

verb (used without object)

10.

to use figures or numerals arithmetically.

11.

to write in or as in cipher.

00:10

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to bark; yelp.

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

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verb (used with object)

12.

to calculate numerically; figure.

13.

to convert into cipher.

Also, especially British, cypher.

Origin:
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 Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To cipher

Collins

World English Dictionary

cipher or cypher (ˈsaɪfə)

—n
1.	a method of secret writing using substitution or transposition of letters according to a key
2.	a secret message
3.	the key to a secret message
4.	an obsolete name for zero
5.	any of the Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, etc, to 9) or the Arabic system of numbering as a whole
6.	a person or thing of no importance; nonentity
7.	a design consisting of interwoven letters; monogram
8.	music a defect in an organ resulting in the continuous sounding of a pipe, the key of which has not been depressed

—vb
9.	to put (a message) into secret writing
10.	(intr) (of an organ pipe) to sound without having the appropriate key depressed
11.	rare to perform (a calculation) arithmetically

[C14: from Old French cifre zero, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic sifr zero, empty]

cypher or cypher

—n

—vb

[C14: from Old French cifre zero, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic sifr zero, empty]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

cipher

1399, from M.L. cifra, from Arabic sifr "zero," lit. "empty, nothing," from safara "to be empty," loan-transl. of Skt. sunya-s "empty." Came to Europe with Arabic numerals. Original meaning "zero," then "any numeral," then (first in Fr. and It.) "coded message" (first attested in Eng. 1528), since early

codes often substituted numbers for letters. The verb meaning "to do arithmetic (with Arabic numerals) first attested 1530.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

cipher

any method of transforming a message to conceal its meaning. The term is also used synonymously with ciphertext or cryptogram in reference to the encrypted form of the message. A brief treatment of ciphers follows. For full treatment, see cryptology.

Learn more about cipher with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

Throughout history, there have been a number of code and cipher systems developed to protect important information.

The cipher disk allowed soldiers to encode signal flag messages.

They must first have the common school to teach them to read, write, and cipher.

Decrypting cipher converts the data back to its original form called plaintext.

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monoalphabetic substitution polyalphabetic substitution zero aught ciphertext ciphony

Matching Quote

"The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary figure is repeated without end. It is the highest emblem in the cipher of the world."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson