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Added 9 October 2026

cipher

/ˈsaɪfə/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cipher at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A message written in a secret code.
A mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number.
A quantity of no importance.
it looked like nothing I had ever seen before

verb

Convert ordinary language into code.
We should encode the message for security reasons
Make a mathematical calculation or computation.

Origin

14th century. From Middle English cifre, from Old French cyfre, cyffre (French chiffre), ultimately from Arabic صِفْر (ṣifr, “zero, empty”), from صَفَرَ (ṣafara, “to be empty”). Doublet of chiffre and zero. Sense 8 (a fault in an organ valve) may be a different word.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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