cipher

Where does the word "cipher" come from? It comes from Arabic sifr, passing through Old French before entering English (medieval).

Cipher’s story begins in Arabic: sifr meant “zero, empty.” Meaning "empty", the Arabic word for zero. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as cifre. Arabic 'sifr', empty, translated Sanskrit 'shunya', zero; 'zero' comes from the same word via Italian. It reached English by medieval as cipher. Broadened to mean a coded message as well as zero. Today, cipher means a method of secret writing, or a person or thing of no importance.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic · c. 800s sifr "zero, empty", meaning "empty", the Arabic word for zero.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval cifre "zero; a secret code", Arabic 'sifr', empty, translated Sanskrit 'shunya', zero; 'zero' comes from the same word via Italian.
3. Stage 3 · English · medieval cipher "a code, or the numeral zero", broadened to mean a coded message as well as zero.