Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “cyffre” come from?

cyffre (Old French) comes from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic صِفْر, from Sanskrit शून्य, from Proto-Indo-European ḱówH-.

Ancestry of “cyffre”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Medieval Latincifrazero, numeral; numeral, cipher; zero
2Arabicصِفْرzero, nothing, empty, void; nothing, cipher;...
3Sanskritशून्यzero; cipher, cypher; blank, deserted
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱówH-—

Words derived from “cyffre”

  • cipher
  • ciphertext
  • cypher
  • encipher
  • encipherment
  • encipherer
  • cipherer
  • cyphertext
  • cipherlike
  • cipherable
  • cipherhood
  • uncypher
  • superencipherment
  • superencipher
  • uncipher
  • telecipher
  • cifre
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱówH- →