The interactive controls need JavaScript. This complete reading remains available.
صِفْر · Arabic
noun · Arabic
Reading: ṣifr (Arabic)
Zero; literally empty or nothing.. Zero; literally empty or nothing.
No secure word-specific date — The inspected lexical evidence for صِفْر does not supply a secure dated witness for this displayed stage; contextual history and the date of an object or practice are not substituted.
Arabic–Medieval Latin–French–English mathematical corridor — Supported language, speech, community or contact-corridor region; not a precise lexical birthplace.
The entry traces cipher to Arabic sifr, “zero,” and describes it as a loan-translation of Sanskrit śūnya, “empty.” cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
Medieval Latin cifra is reported in the route into Old French and Romance forms. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
cipher: an inspected specialist, institutional or national-language source supports the displayed forms and the selected conventional readings; reconstructed or historical readings remain explicitly qualified. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the map point is a supported language, speech-community or documented contact-corridor reference, not a precise lexical birthplace. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: lexical dates are retained only where the inspected record dates a form or sense; contextual object, cultural, institutional and biographical dates are not substituted for word chronology. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the route preserves competing analyses, qualified edges and semantic distinctions required by the inspected evidence. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: adjacent relations are retained with their existing type and certainty unless the inspected evidence requires a qualified or parallel reading. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cifra · Medieval Latin
noun · Medieval Latin
Reading: CIF-ra (Medieval Latin)
Zero or a numeral in Arabic notation.. Zero or a numeral in Arabic notation.
No secure word-specific date — The inspected lexical evidence for cifra does not supply a secure dated witness for this displayed stage; contextual history and the date of an object or practice are not substituted.
Arabic–Medieval Latin–French–English mathematical corridor — Supported language, speech, community or contact-corridor region; not a precise lexical birthplace.
The entry traces cipher to Arabic sifr, “zero,” and describes it as a loan-translation of Sanskrit śūnya, “empty.” cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
Medieval Latin cifra is reported in the route into Old French and Romance forms. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
Old French cifre is reported before English cipher. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
cipher: an inspected specialist, institutional or national-language source supports the displayed forms and the selected conventional readings; reconstructed or historical readings remain explicitly qualified. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the map point is a supported language, speech-community or documented contact-corridor reference, not a precise lexical birthplace. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: lexical dates are retained only where the inspected record dates a form or sense; contextual object, cultural, institutional and biographical dates are not substituted for word chronology. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the route preserves competing analyses, qualified edges and semantic distinctions required by the inspected evidence. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: adjacent relations are retained with their existing type and certainty unless the inspected evidence requires a qualified or parallel reading. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cifre · Old French
noun · Old French
Reading: CIF-re (Old French)
Zero or an arithmetical symbol.. Zero or an arithmetical symbol.
No secure word-specific date — The inspected lexical evidence for cifre does not supply a secure dated witness for this displayed stage; contextual history and the date of an object or practice are not substituted.
Arabic–Medieval Latin–French–English mathematical corridor — Supported language, speech, community or contact-corridor region; not a precise lexical birthplace.
Medieval Latin cifra is reported in the route into Old French and Romance forms. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
Old French cifre is reported before English cipher. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
English cipher is reported from the late fourteenth century for zero and later any numeral. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
cipher: an inspected specialist, institutional or national-language source supports the displayed forms and the selected conventional readings; reconstructed or historical readings remain explicitly qualified. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the map point is a supported language, speech-community or documented contact-corridor reference, not a precise lexical birthplace. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: lexical dates are retained only where the inspected record dates a form or sense; contextual object, cultural, institutional and biographical dates are not substituted for word chronology. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the route preserves competing analyses, qualified edges and semantic distinctions required by the inspected evidence. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: adjacent relations are retained with their existing type and certainty unless the inspected evidence requires a qualified or parallel reading. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher · English
noun · English
Reading: SY-fer
Zero or an arithmetical symbol.. Zero or an arithmetical symbol.
No secure word-specific date — The inspected lexical evidence for cipher does not supply a secure dated witness for this displayed stage; contextual history and the date of an object or practice are not substituted.
English lexical reference region (not origin) — Reference region for the English lexical stage; not a birthplace or borrowing point.
Old French cifre is reported before English cipher. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
English cipher is reported from the late fourteenth century for zero and later any numeral. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
The secret-writing sense is reported in English from the 1520s, after number substitution became associated with codes. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
cipher: an inspected specialist, institutional or national-language source supports the displayed forms and the selected conventional readings; reconstructed or historical readings remain explicitly qualified. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the map point is a supported language, speech-community or documented contact-corridor reference, not a precise lexical birthplace. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: lexical dates are retained only where the inspected record dates a form or sense; contextual object, cultural, institutional and biographical dates are not substituted for word chronology. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the route preserves competing analyses, qualified edges and semantic distinctions required by the inspected evidence. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: adjacent relations are retained with their existing type and certainty unless the inspected evidence requires a qualified or parallel reading. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher · English
noun · English
Reading: SY-fer
A secret method of writing or coded message.. A secret method of writing or coded message.
c. 1520 · English cryptographic cipher — Reported written-use context; not the date of coinage or transmission.
English lexical reference region (not origin) — Reference region for the English lexical stage; not a birthplace or borrowing point.
English cipher is reported from the late fourteenth century for zero and later any numeral. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
The secret-writing sense is reported in English from the 1520s, after number substitution became associated with codes. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
The figurative “person or thing of no value” sense is reported from the 1570s. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
cipher: an inspected specialist, institutional or national-language source supports the displayed forms and the selected conventional readings; reconstructed or historical readings remain explicitly qualified. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the map point is a supported language, speech-community or documented contact-corridor reference, not a precise lexical birthplace. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: lexical dates are retained only where the inspected record dates a form or sense; contextual object, cultural, institutional and biographical dates are not substituted for word chronology. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the route preserves competing analyses, qualified edges and semantic distinctions required by the inspected evidence. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: adjacent relations are retained with their existing type and certainty unless the inspected evidence requires a qualified or parallel reading. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher · English
noun · English
Reading: SY-fer
A person or thing of no value or consequence.. A person or thing of no value or consequence.
c. 1570 · English figurative cipher — Reported written-use context; not the date of coinage or transmission.
English lexical reference region (not origin) — Reference region for the English lexical stage; not a birthplace or borrowing point.
The secret-writing sense is reported in English from the 1520s, after number substitution became associated with codes. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
The figurative “person or thing of no value” sense is reported from the 1570s. cipher — Etymology · etymology and sense history
cipher: an inspected specialist, institutional or national-language source supports the displayed forms and the selected conventional readings; reconstructed or historical readings remain explicitly qualified. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the map point is a supported language, speech-community or documented contact-corridor reference, not a precise lexical birthplace. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: lexical dates are retained only where the inspected record dates a form or sense; contextual object, cultural, institutional and biographical dates are not substituted for word chronology. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: the route preserves competing analyses, qualified edges and semantic distinctions required by the inspected evidence. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion
cipher: adjacent relations are retained with their existing type and certainty unless the inspected evidence requires a qualified or parallel reading. Cifra y cero; medieval translation and zero discussion