1
Stage 1 of 3
sifr
Arabic · c. 800s
"zero, empty"
meaning "empty", the Arabic word for zero
2
Stage 2 of 3
cifre
Old French · medieval
"zero; a secret code"
adopted through the spread of Arabic numerals in Europe
3
Stage 3 of 3
cipher
English · medieval
"a code, or the numeral zero"
broadened to mean a coded message as well as zero
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