``T was certain he could write and cipher too. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
Cipher — Ci pher, n. [OF. cifre zero, F. Chiffre figure (cf. Sp.cifra, LL. cifra), fr. Ar. [,c]ifrun, [,c]afrun, empty, cipher, zero, fr. [,c]afira to be empty. Cf. {Zero}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Arith.) A character [0] which, standing by itself, expresses… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
cipher — UK [ˈsaɪfə(r)] / US [ˈsaɪfər] or cypher UK / US noun Word forms cipher : singular cipher plural ciphers 1) [countable/uncountable] a secret system of writing, used for sending messages so that no one can understand them unless they know the… … English dictionary
Cipher — Ci pher, a. Of the nature of a cipher; of no weight or influence. Twelve cipher bishops. Milton. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
cipher — [sī′fər] n. [ME cifre < OFr cyfre < ML cifra < Ar ṣifr, ṣefr, a cipher, nothing < ṣafara, to be empty] 1. the symbol 0, indicating a value of zero 2. a person or thing of no importance or value 3. a) a system of secret writing based… … English World dictionary
Cipher — Ci pher, v. t. 1. To write in occult characters. [1913 Webster] His notes he ciphered with Greek characters. Hayward. [1913 Webster] 2. To get by ciphering; as, to cipher out the answer. [1913 Webster] 3. To decipher. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster]… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
cipher — [n] zero; nothingness blank, diddly squat*, goose egg*, insignificancy, nada*, naught, nil, nobody, nonentity, nothing, nought, nullity, squat, zilch, zip, zippo*, zot*; concepts 668,787 cipher [v] figure out code break, calculate, clear up,… … New thesaurus
cipher — index blank (emptiness), calculate, designation (symbol), indicant, nonentity Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton … Law dictionary
cipher — is the recommended spelling, not cypher … Modern English usage
cipher — (also cypher) ► NOUN 1) a code. 2) a key to a code. 3) an unimportant person or thing. 4) dated a zero. ► VERB ▪ encode (a message). ORIGIN Old French cifre, from Arab … English terms dictionary
Cipher — For other uses, see Cipher (disambiguation). Edward Larsson s rune cipher resembling that found on the Kensington Runestone. Also includes runically unrelated blackletter writing style and pigpen cipher. In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is… … Wikipedia
