Where does “chiffre” come from?
chiffre (French) comes from Italian cifra, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic صِفْر, from Sanskrit शून्य, from Proto-Indo-European ḱówH-.
chiffre (French): a digit i.e. 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9; a number;...
Definitions
- a digit i.e. 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9; a number;...
Ancestry of “chiffre”, step by step
chiffre traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Italian cifra
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | cifra | figure, numeral; sum; code, cipher |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | cifra | zero, numeral; numeral, cipher; zero |
| 3 | Arabic | صِفْر | zero, nothing, empty, void; nothing, cipher;... |
| 4 | Sanskrit | शून्य | zero; cipher, cypher; blank, deserted |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱówH- | — |
via Latin cifra
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | cifra | numeral, cipher; zero |