verb
cipher
To work out an answer by calculation.
The schoolboy ciphers the answer on a slate using the figures his teacher supplied.
Etymology
The Arabic source names zero. English broadened cipher to numerical figures, then used it as a verb for working with those figures to calculate an answer.
More examples
- She learned to read, write, and cipher.
- He ciphered the total without a calculator.
- The old lesson book includes exercises in ciphering.
Forms
cipher · ciphers · ciphered · ciphering
Similar words
- calculate
- Calculate is the ordinary modern term; cipher in this sense is old-fashioned.