Topic: MATHS
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| Date: | 1300-1400 |
| Language: | Old French |
| Origin: | cifre, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic sifr 'empty, zero' |
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ci‧pher, cypher
1 [uncountable and countable] formal a system of secret writing [= code]: an expert in ciphers messages written in cipher
an expert in ciphersmessages written in cipher2 [countable] someone who is not important and has no power or influence : At work, she was a cipher, a functionary, nothing more.
At work, she was a cipher, a functionary, nothing more.3 literaryHM [countable] the number 0 [= zero]
