cypher

See also: Cypher

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

cypher (plural cyphers)

1. (British spelling) Alternative spelling of cipher.
   • 1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter XVII, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 337:

     Lady Bertram seems more of a cypher now than when he is at home; […]

   • 2023 July 26, Christian Wolmar, “Closing ticket offices to lead to 'catch-22' for passengers”, in RAIL, number 988, page 42:

     I have been critical of the RDG in the past for merely being a cypher for government announcements, but the failure of its members to make a stand on this issue and not be complicit in the Government's subterfuge is a shocking indictment of their failure to protect the industry.

Verb

cypher (third-person singular simple present cyphers, present participle cyphering, simple past and past participle cyphered)

1. (British spelling) Alternative spelling of cipher.

Usage notes

• Less common than cipher, but still used; see The Ultra Secret by Winterbotham, the cypherpunk movement, Strider weapon, and consider the Royal Navy's series of Cyphers (Nr 1, Nr 2, Nr 3, ...) before and into WWII.
• This spelling is more commonly used than cipher when referring to a hip-hop jam session.

Derived terms

• cyphertext
• uncypher

Anagrams

• Chypre, chypre