Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
cypher - 5 dictionary results
TAXUS® Drug-Eluting Stent
 Learn More About Stent Procedures Using TAXUS® Coronary Stent Systems
 www.Stent.com

cy⋅pher

  [sahy-fer]
Use cypher in a Sentence
–noun, verb (used without object), verb (used with object) Chiefly British.
cipher.

ci⋅pher

  [sahy-fer]
–noun
1. zero.
2. any of the Arabic numerals or figures.
3. Arabic numerical notation collectively.
4. something of no value or importance.
5. a person of no influence; nonentity.
6. a secret method of writing, as by transposition or substitution of letters, specially formed symbols, or the like. Compare cryptography.
7. writing done by such a method; a coded message.
8. the key to a secret method of writing.
9. a combination of letters, as the initials of a name, in one design; monogram.
–verb (used without object)
10. to use figures or numerals arithmetically.
11. to write in or as in cipher.
–verb (used with object)
12. to calculate numerically; figure.
13. to convert into cipher.
Also, especially British, cypher.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME siphre < ML ciphra < Ar ṣifr empty, zero; trans. of Skt 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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cypher
ci·pher also cy·pher   (sī'fər)   
n.  
  1. The mathematical symbol (0) denoting absence of quantity; zero.
  2. An Arabic numeral or figure; a number.
  3. One having no influence or value; a nonentity.
    1. A cryptographic system in which units of plain text of regular length, usually letters, are arbitrarily transposed or substituted according to a predetermined code.
    2. The key to such a system.
    3. A message written or transmitted in such a system.
  5. A design combining or interweaving letters or initials; a monogram.
v.   ci·phered also cy·phered, ci·pher·ing also cy·pher·ing, ci·phers also cy·phers

v.   intr.
To solve problems in arithmetic; calculate. See Synonyms at calculate.
v.   tr.
  1. To put in secret writing; encode.
  2. To solve by means of arithmetic.

[Middle English cifre, from Old French, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic ṣifr, from ṣafira, to be empty (translation of Sanskrit śūnyam, cipher, dot); see ṣpr1 in Semitic roots.]
cy·pher   (sī'fər)   
n.   & v.
Variant of cipher.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Cypher

Cy"pher\ (s?"f?r), n. & v. See Cipher.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see cypher on Thesaurus | Reference
TAXUS® Drug-Eluting Stent
 Learn More About Stent Procedures Using TAXUS® Coronary Stent Systems
 www.Stent.com
>