cypher

Noun

cipher (plural ciphers)

1. (dated) A numeric character.

   Synonyms:

   number, numeral, digit

2. (obsolete) Any text character.
   • In ſucceeding times this vnderſtanding wiſedome began to be written in Ciphers, and Characters, and letters bearing the forme of beaſtes, birds, and other creatures; […]1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], “Of diuers memorable things betweene the fall of Adam, and the floud of Noah”, in The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter...
3. (archaic) A combination or interweaving of letters, as the initials of a name.
   • a painter's cipher

   Synonyms:

   device, monogram

4. A method of transforming a text in order to conceal its meaning.
   • The message was written in a simple cipher. Anyone could figure it out.

   Synonyms:

   code

5. A cryptographic system using an algorithm that converts letters or sequences of bits into ciphertext.
   • a public-key cipher
6. Ciphertext; a message concealed via a cipher.
   • The message is clearly a cipher, but I can't figure it out.

See all 16 meanings of cipher