ciphercyphern.

Brit.

/ˈsʌɪfə/, U.S.

/ˈsaɪfər/

Forms: Middle English sipher, siphre, 1500s cyfer, cyfre, cifer, cifra, cifre, ciphra, sypher, syphre, ziphre, Scottish syphir, syphyr, ( scypher), 1500s–1600s ciphre, cyphar, 1600s cyphre, ciphar, zifer, 1500s– cypher, cipher.

Etymology: < Old French cyfre, cyffre (modern French chiffre) = Spanish cifra, Portuguese cifra, Italian cifra, medieval Latin cifra, cifera, ciphra, < Arabic ṣifr the arithmetical symbol ‘zero’ or ‘nought’ (written in Indian and Arabic numeration ٠), a substantive use of the adjective ṣifr ‘empty, void’, < ṣafara to be empty. The Arabic was simply a translation of the Sanskrit name śūnya, literally ‘empty’.

a. An arithmetical symbol or character (0) of no value by itself, but which increases or decreases the value of other figures according to its position. When placed after any figure or series of figures in a whole number it increases the value of that figure or series tenfold, and when placed before a figure in decimal fractions, it decreases its value in the same proportion.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > zero > nought or character zero

cipher1399

nullity1587

nullo1598

zero1604

null1648

naught1649

noughta1660

ought1821

aught1822

oh1908

1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles iv. 53 Than satte summe, as siphre doth in awgrym, That noteth a place, and no thing availith.

c1400 Test. Love (1560) ii. 286 b/1 Although a sipher in augrim have no might in signification of it selve, yet he yeveth power in signification to other.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 140 Quha na thing hes can na thing gett, Bot ay as syphir sett amang thame.

1547 J. Harrison Exhort. Scottes 229 Our presidentes..doo serue but as Cyphers in Algorisme, to fill the place.

a1593 H. Smith Serm. (1622) 310 You are..like cyphers, which supply a place, but signifie nothing.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 6 Like a Cypher (Yet standing in rich place) I multiply With one we thanke you, many thousands moe, That goe before it.

1660 J. Milton Readie Way Free Commonw. 4 Only like a great cypher set to no purpose before a long row of other significant figures.

1718 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher I. xvi. xxii. 336 With 39 Noughts or Cyphers following.

1822 M. Edgeworth Frank: Sequel III. 143 It was said..that all Cambridge scholars call the cipher aught and all Oxford scholars call it nought.

1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 4 The first nine are called Significant Figures, as distinguished from the cipher, which is of itself quite insignificant.

†b. The zero-point, or zero, of a thermometer. U.S.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > zero > zero-point of thermometer

cipher1796

the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > measurement of temperature > [noun] > instrument > specific degrees on a thermometer > zero of a thermometer

cipher1796

zero1800

1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 475 The range of the quick~silver..is between the 24th degree below, and the 105th degree above cypher.

1815 D. Drake Nat. & Statist. View Cincinnati ii. 94 From nine years observations, at Cincinnati, it appears that the thermometer falls below cypher twice every winter.

2. figurative.

a. A person who fills a place, but is of no importance or worth, a nonentity, a ‘mere nothing’.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > types of

cipher?1507

cog1934

spear-carrier1960

token1968

?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 45 He sunys to be sumthing worth, that syphyr in bour.

1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 8 If one bee harde in conceiuing, they pronounce him a dowlte,..if without speach, a Cypher.

1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre ii. v. 49 At this day the Romane Emperour is a very ciphre, without power or profit in Rome.

1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) I. 252/1 The tribunes' office, which has made ciphers of the consuls.

1845 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 I. v. 259 The Raja was a cypher: the Dewan usurped the whole power.

1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. iii. 78 To the lady and lord rather—his lordship being little more than a cypher in the house.

b. of things.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant

thing of noughtc1425

nothing such1579

of nothing1583

nullitya1591

O1608

ciphera1616

zero1650

flinga1661

leather and prunella1734

small change1822

minus quantity1843

nuthin'1843

nothingburger1953

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. ii. 39 Mine were the verie Cipher of a Function To fine the faults..And let goe by the Actor.

1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 2) viii. 105 The impotent estate being reduced to a cipher, is as if it had no existence.

3. In an extended sense, applied to all the Arabian numerals; a numeral figure; a number.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical notation or symbol > [noun] > figure

rimeeOE

figure?c1225

numberc1300

digit?a1400

digitalc1450

cipher1530

term1552

terminus?a1560

significant figure1614

small figuresa1652

numeral1654

monasa1690

binary digit1796

nomial1828

supplement1868

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 684/2 I reken, I counte by cyfers of agrym.

1543 R. Record Ground of Artes i. sig. A.vii^v Of those .x. [figures] one doth sygnifie nothyng..and is called priuately a cyphar, though all the other somtyme be lykewyse named.

1656 T. Blount Glossographia Cipher, a figure or number.

1756 J. Warton Ess. on Pope I. iii. 183 It was Gerbert, who..is said to have introduced into France, the Arabian and Indian cypher.

1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xviii. i. 5 I remember to have seen ‘150 millions’ loosely given as the exaggerative cipher.

1875 Renouf's Egypt. Gram. 13 Numbers are almost always expressed by means of ciphers.

†4.

a. gen. A symbolic character, a hieroglyph.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > hieroglyph

cipher1541

hieroglyph1598

hierogram1656

hierograph1835

determinative1862

1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) A iv They wolde have deuysed a strange syphre or fourme of letters, wherin they wold have writen their science.

1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. iv. 40 Yeat ware not their Letters facioned to ioyne together in sillables like ours, but Ziphres, and shapes of men and of beastes.

1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. v. §6. 78 In succeeding times this vnderstanding and wisdome began to be written in Ciphers, and Characters, and letters bearing the forme of beastes, birds, and other creatures.

†b. An astrological sign or figure. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > astrology > [noun] > sign or device

character1449

cipher1590

sigil1659

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ii. sig. Dd5 May learned be by cyphers, or by Magicke might.

1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. iii. 202 He Circles draws, and Squares With Cyphers, Astrall Characters.

figurative.1841 R. W. Emerson Circles in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 303 The eye..is the highest emblem in the cipher of the world.

a. A secret or disguised manner of writing, whether by characters arbitrarily invented (apparently the earlier method), or by an arbitrary use of letters or characters in other than their ordinary sense, by making single words stand for sentences or phrases, or by other conventional methods intelligible only to those possessing the key; a cryptograph. Also anything written in cipher, and the key to such a system.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > code, cipher > [noun]

cipher1528

steganography1569

polygraphy1593

jargon1594

cryptography1653

code1818

code language1875

society > communication > writing > system of writing > [noun] > disguised or secret writing

cipher1528

scytale1579

polygraphy1593

cryptography1653

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > code, cipher > [noun] > key

countercipher1598

key1605

code book1703

keyword1762

cipher-key1834

key card1841

cipher1885

1528 S. Gardiner in N. Pocock Rec. Reformation I. No. 48. 92 We think not convenient to write them, but only in cipher.

1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1371*/1 Letters betweene them were alwaies written in cipher.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Qq The kindes of Cyphars..are many, according to the Nature or Rule of the infoulding: Wheele-Cyphars, Kay-Cyphars, Dovbles, &c.

1652 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 289 I had also addresses and cyphers, to correspond with his Majesty and Ministers abroad.

1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. i. 15 We admit the Key of a Cypher to be a true one, when it explains the Cypher completely.

1812 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) IX. 235 We have deciphered the letter you sent and it goes back to you with the key of the cipher.

1837 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. VI. xlix. 508 Intercepting of some of the correspondence in cipher.

1885 Gordon in Standard 24 Feb. Cypher letter..which I cannot decypher, for Colonel Stewart took the cypher with him.

†b. ciphers n. Shorthand; = character n. 3c.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > system of writing > shorthand > [noun]

ciphers1541

charactery1588

brachygraphy1590

stenography1602

characters1616

short-writing1620

shorthand1636

tachygraphy1641

steno1946

1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance ix. f. 17^v Secretaries or clerkes..in briefe notes or siphers made for that purpose, wrate euery worde that by those counsaylours was spoken.

a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) i. 82 His Speeches were much heeded, and taken by divers in Ciphers.

c. figurative.

ΚΠ

a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 12 To open the cipher of other mens thoughts.

1854 B. Taylor L'Envoi in Poems of Orient I found among the children of the Sun The cipher of my nature.

6. An intertexture of letters, esp. the initials of a name, engraved or stamped on plate, linen, etc.; a literal device, monogram; now esp. used of Turkish or Arabic names so expressed.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > letter > monogram

ciphera1640

monogram1696

monograph1849

toughra1888

a1640 P. Massinger Beleeue as you List (1976) v. ii. 135 Pull out the stone, & vnder it you shall finde my name, and cipher I then vsde ingraven.

a1672 A. Wood Life (1848) 87 (note) Above [the portrait] is his cypher.

1764 T. Harmer Observ. Passages Script. xix. x. 425 The Emir's flourish or cypher at the bottom, signifying, ‘The poor, the abject Mehemet, son of Turabeye’.

1824 J. Johnson Typographia I. 348 At the end is Caxton's cypher on a white ground.

1889 N.E.D. at Cipher Mod. Turkish coins bearing no device except the Sultan's cipher.

7. The continuous sounding of any note upon an organ, owing to the imperfect closing of the pallet or valve without any pressure upon the corresponding key.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > [noun] > sound of organ > harsh or unwanted

cipher1779

wolf1788

ciphering1876

run1895

1779 C. Burney Infant Musician in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 69 198 He weakened the springs of two keys at once, which, by preventing the valves of the wind-chest from closing, occasioned a double cipher.

1884 W. S. Rockstro Mendelssohn xii. 82 During the course of the Fantasia..a long treble A began to sound on the swell..We well remember whispering to Mr. Vincent Novello..‘It must be a cypher’.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

cipher bishop n. (Sense 2.)

ΚΠ

1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης iv. 37 That foolish and selfe-undoing Declaration of twelve Cypher Bishops.

cipher-letter n.

ΚΠ

1885 Gordon in Standard 24 Feb. Cypher letter..which I cannot decypher, for Colonel Stewart took the cypher with him.

cipher-telegram n.

ΚΠ

1880 Brit. Post. Guide 242 Cypher telegrams are those containing series or groups of figures or letters having a secret meaning; or words not to be found in a standard dictionary.

cipher-writing n. (Sense 5.)

cipher face n.

ΚΠ

1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 64 A red And cipher face of rounded foolishness.

C2.

cipher-key n. the key to writings in cipher.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > code, cipher > [noun] > key

countercipher1598

key1605

code book1703

keyword1762

cipher-key1834

key card1841

cipher1885

1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. iv. 12/1 Laughter: the cipher-key, wherewith we decipher the whole man!

cipher officer n. an officer in the military or diplomatic services responsible for the coding and decoding of ciphers.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > study or science of written symbols > [noun] > in military, one who codes or decodes ciphers

cipher officer1915

society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer according to function > [noun] > officers with other specific functions

Master of the Artillery1512

trench-master1577

supernumerary1644

trench-sergeanta1753

beach-master1874

observation officer1904

censor1914

cipher officer1915

range safety officer1942

1915 O. Williams Let. 23 Mar. in C. Mackenzie Gallipoli Mem. (1929) ii. 7 I'm cipher officer on his Staff with the rank of Captain.

1948 Hansard Commons 11 Mar. 1539 The smooth running of an embassy abroad depends just as much on a happy, contented, well-paid staff of cipher officers..as..on the..head of the Mission.

† cipher-tunnel n. Obsolete a false or mock chimney.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [noun] > chimney > specific type

cipher-tunnel1655

kitchen lum1819

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. v. 197 The device of Cypher Tunnels or mock-Chimneys meerly for uniformity of building.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

cipherv.

Brit.

/ˈsʌɪfə/, U.S.

/ˈsaɪfər/

Forms: Forms see n.

Etymology: < cipher n.

a. intransitive. To use the Arabic numerals in the processes of arithmetic; to work the elementary rules of arithmetic; now chiefly a term of elementary education.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic > do arithmetic [verb (intransitive)]

cipher1530

count1588

arithmetizea1658

to do one's sums1818

sum1838

figure1854

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 485/1 I cyfer, I acompte or reken by algorisme.

1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Zifrare, to cifre or cast account.

a1640 P. Massinger Guardian i. i. 42 in 3 New Playes (1655) Let him know No more than how to cypher well.

1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 208 'Twas certain he could write and cypher too.

1868 M. Pattison Suggestions Acad. Organisation 64 All children should learn to read, write, and cipher.

b. transitive. To work out arithmetically. Also with out.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic > treat arithmetically [verb (transitive)]

state1657

cipher1825

to figure up1854

arithmeticize1878

arithmetize1892

1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 172 Let each man take a slate and cipher it out.

1853 J. G. Baldwin Flush Times Alabama 91 A sum ciphered out through a long column.

1860 J. G. Holland Miss Gilbert's Career ii. 45 The manufacturer ciphered it with his eyes on the ceiling.

c. To calculate, cast in the mind, think out. (U.S. colloquial.)

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > thought > think [verb (intransitive)] > think out

cipher1837

1837–40 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker (1862) 18 The constable had a writ agin him, and he was cyphering a good while how he should catch him.

1850 R. W. Emerson Napoleon in Representative Men vi. 225 Bonaparte superadded to this mineral and animal force, insight and generalization,..as if the sea and land had taken flesh and begun to cipher.

1872 ‘M. Twain’ Roughing It xv. 124 She puzzles her brain to cipher out some scheme for getting it into my hands.

2. To express by characters of any kind; esp. to write in cipher or cryptogram.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)]

awriteeOE

writeOE

speak?c1225

paintc1400

conscribec1487

blecka1500

cipher1565

letter1570

characterize1581

character1589

bewrite1660

scriven1680

quill1768

screeve1851

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > code, cipher > express in code [verb (transitive)]

cipher1565

encipher1587

society > communication > writing > system of writing > [verb (transitive)] > write in secret writing

cipher1565

1565–78 T. Cooper Thesaurus Notis scribere, to cipher.

1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 1345/1 Not only the Priestes that mary, but them also that say or cyphre that a Priest maie mary.

1594 T. Blundeville Exercises v. vi. f. 256 Such a kinde of writing [sc. Chinese], that euery man of what nation so euer..might pronounce in his mother tongue, euen as it were ciphered.

a1627 J. Hayward Life & Raigne Edward Sixt (1630) 9 His notes he cyphered with greeke characters to the end that they who waited on him should not read them.

1779 S. Johnson Cowley in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets I. 11 He..was employed..in ciphering and deciphering the letters that passed between the king and queen.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. iv. iii. 219 Letters go in cipher,—one of them,..hard to decipher; Fersen having ciphered it in haste.

†3. gen. To express, show forth, make manifest by any outward signs, portray, delineate. Const. forth, out. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > manifestation > [verb (transitive)]

uppec897

atewOE

sutelec1000

openOE

awnc1175

kithec1175

forthteec1200

tawnec1220

let witc1275

forthshowa1300

to pilt out?a1300

showa1300

barea1325

mythc1330

unfoldc1374

to open outc1390

assign1398

mustera1400

reyve?a1400

vouchc1400

manifest?a1425

outshowc1425

ostendc1429

explayc1443

objecta1500

reveala1500

patefy?1509

decipher1529

relieve1533

to set outa1540

utter1542

report1548

unbuckle1548

to set forth1551

demonstrate1553

to hold forth1560

testify1560

explicate1565

forthsetc1565

to give show of1567

denudec1572

exhibit1573

apparent1577

display?1578

carry1580

cipher1583

laya1586

foreshow1590

uncloud?1594

vision1594

explain1597

proclaim1597

unroll1598

discloud1600

remonstrate1601

resent1602

to bring out1608

palesate1613

pronounce1615

to speak out1623

elicit1641

confess1646

bear1657

breathe1667

outplay1702

to throw out1741

evolve1744

announce1781

develop1806

exfoliate1808

evince1829

exposit1882

pack1925

1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Bv You do well to request me to cipher foorth vnto you parte of those great Abuses.

a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. E More I could not sipher out by signes.

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. C2 The Herrald will contriue, To cipher me how fondlie I did dote.

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. K2 The face of eyther cypher'd eythers heart.

1640 J. Gough Strange Discov. i. i Read the characters Of gravity and wisdome ciphered in Your aged face.

†4. To decipher. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > expound, explain [verb (transitive)]

arecchec885

unloukOE

overrunOE

sutelec1000

trahtnec1000

unfolda1050

belayc1175

openc1175

onopena1200

accountc1300

undo?a1366

remenea1382

interpret1382

unwrap1387

exploitc1390

enlumine1393

declarec1400

expoundc1400

unplait?c1400

enperc1420

planea1425

clearc1440

exponec1440

to lay outc1440

to give (also carry) lightc1449

unwind1482

expose1483

reducea1500

manifest1530

explicate1531

explaina1535

unlock?1536

dilucidate1538

elucidate1538

illustrate1538

rechec1540

explicate1543

illucidate1545

enucleate1548

unsnarl1555

commonstrate1563

to lay forth1577

straighten1577

unbroid1577

untwist1577

decipherc1586

illuminate1586

enlighten1587

resolvec1592

cipher1594

eliquidate1596

to take (a person) with one1599

rivelc1600

ravel1604

unbowel1606

unmist1611

extricate1614

unbolta1616

untanglea1616

enode1623

unperplexa1631

perspicuate1634

explata1637

unravel1637

esclarea1639

clarify1642

unweave1642

detenebrate1646

dismystery1652

undecipher1654

unfork1654

unparadox1654

reflect1655

enodate1656

unmysterya1661

liquidatea1670

recognize1676

to clear upa1691

to throw sidelight on1726

to throw (also cast, shed) light on (also upon)1731

eclaircise1754

irradiate1864

unbraid1880

predigest1905

to get (something) straight1920

disambiguate1960

demystify1963

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. F4 The illiterate that know not how To cipher what is writ in learned bookes.

†5. To express by a cipher, monogram, or the like.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > written character > represent by written character [verb (transitive)] > express by or decorate with monogram

ciphera1628

encipher1651

monogram1912

a1628 F. Greville Cælica lxxv, in Certaine Wks. (1633) 221 Wherein my name cyphred were.

1688 London Gaz. No. 2323/4 Which Watch belongeth to John Irving Esq.; and has his Name cyphered in silver Studds upon the Case.

†6. To make a cipher of, make nought of. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to

undoc950

shendOE

forfarea1000

endc1000

to do awayOE

aquenchc1175

slayc1175

stathea1200

tinea1300

to-spilla1300

batec1300

bleschea1325

honisha1325

leesea1325

wastec1325

stanch1338

corrumpa1340

destroy1340

to put awayc1350

dissolvec1374

supplanta1382

to-shend1382

aneantizec1384

avoidc1384

to put outa1398

beshenda1400

swelta1400

amortizec1405

distract1413

consumec1425

shelfc1425

abroge1427

downthringc1430

kill1435

poisonc1450

defeat1474

perish1509

to blow away1523

abrogatea1529

to prick (also turn, pitch) over the perka1529

dash?1529

to bring (also send) to (the) pot1531

put in the pot1531

wipea1538

extermine1539

fatec1540

peppera1550

disappoint1563

to put (also set) beside the saddle1563

to cut the throat of1565

to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch1568

to make a hand of (also on, with)1569

demolish1570

to break the neck of1576

to make shipwreck of1577

spoil1578

to knock on (in) the head (also rarely at head)1579

cipher1589

ruinate1590

to cut off by the shins1592

shipwreck1599

exterminate1605

finish1611

damnify1612

ravel1614

braina1616

stagger1629

unrivet1630

consummate1634

pulverizea1640

baffle1649

devil1652

to blow up1660

feague1668

shatter1683

cook1708

to die away1748

to prove fatal (to)1759

to knock up1764

to knock (or kick) the hindsight out or off1834

to put the kibosh on1834

to cook (rarely do) one's goose1835

kibosh1841

to chaw up1843

cooper1851

to jack up1870

scuttle1888

to bugger up1891

jigger1895

torpedo1895

on the fritz1900

to put paid to1901

rot1908

down and out1916

scuppera1918

to put the skids under1918

stonker1919

liquidate1924

to screw up1933

cruel1934

to dig the grave of1934

pox1935

blow1936

to hit for six1937

to piss up1937

to dust off1938

zap1976

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie Ep. Ded. sig. ABiij I considered that bestowyng vpon your Lordship the first vewe of this mine impression (a feat of mine owne simple facultie) it could not scypher her Maiesties honour or prerogatiue in the guift, nor yet the Authour of his thanks.

7. Cricket. To assign a cipher to in the score, put out without scoring.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > dismissal of batsman > put out [verb (transitive)] > without scoring

cipher1882

1882 Daily Tel. 12 June Neither he [Butler] nor Selby were destined to stay long, the former being cyphered to a full toss from Garrett, and the latter very finely caught by Bonnor.

8. intransitive. Of an organ: To sound any note continuously without pressure on the corresponding key. See cipher n. 7.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > sound [verb (intransitive)] > organ wailing

howl1687

cipher1779

wolve1864

15.. in Grose's Antiquarian Repertory (1809) IV. 407 To myche wyndinge of the pipis is not the best, Whiche may cause them to sypher wher armoney shulde rest.

15.. in Grose's Antiquarian Repertory (1809) IV. 407 Wronge handlynge of the stoppis may cause them sipher fro the kynde.

1779 C. Burney Infant Musician in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 69 198 While he was playing the organ, a particular note hung, or, to speak the language of organ-builders, ciphered, by which the tone was continued without the pressure of the finger.

1869 Haweis Good Words Supp. 1 Mar. 10/2 The organist is disturbed if his organ begins to cipher.

9. Naval Architecture. To bevel or chamfer away.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > inclination > incline [verb (transitive)] > bevel

cant1542

splay1598

chamfret1611

cipher1674

bevel1678

bezel1680

chamfer1688

champer1788

scarf1831

to wash off1833

splay1879

1674 W. Petty Disc. before Royal Soc. 23 If the same Triangular head [of a ship] be cyphered away into an Angle from bottom to top.

1711 London Gaz. No. 4935/4 Having the Edge next towards the Lince pin Cyphered off.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	cipher
释义	ciphercyphern. Brit. /ˈsʌɪfə/, U.S. /ˈsaɪfər/ Forms: Middle English sipher, siphre, 1500s cyfer, cyfre, cifer, cifra, cifre, ciphra, sypher, syphre, ziphre, Scottish syphir, syphyr, ( scypher), 1500s–1600s ciphre, cyphar, 1600s cyphre, ciphar, zifer, 1500s– cypher, cipher. Etymology: < Old French cyfre, cyffre (modern French chiffre) = Spanish cifra, Portuguese cifra, Italian cifra, medieval Latin cifra, cifera, ciphra, < Arabic ṣifr the arithmetical symbol ‘zero’ or ‘nought’ (written in Indian and Arabic numeration ٠), a substantive use of the adjective ṣifr ‘empty, void’, < ṣafara to be empty. The Arabic was simply a translation of the Sanskrit name śūnya, literally ‘empty’. 1. a. An arithmetical symbol or character (0) of no value by itself, but which increases or decreases the value of other figures according to its position. When placed after any figure or series of figures in a whole number it increases the value of that figure or series tenfold, and when placed before a figure in decimal fractions, it decreases its value in the same proportion. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > zero > nought or character zero cipher1399 nullity1587 nullo1598 zero1604 null1648 naught1649 noughta1660 ought1821 aught1822 oh1908 1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles iv. 53 Than satte summe, as siphre doth in awgrym, That noteth a place, and no thing availith. c1400 Test. Love (1560) ii. 286 b/1 Although a sipher in augrim have no might in signification of it selve, yet he yeveth power in signification to other. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 140 Quha na thing hes can na thing gett, Bot ay as syphir sett amang thame. 1547 J. Harrison Exhort. Scottes 229 Our presidentes..doo serue but as Cyphers in Algorisme, to fill the place. a1593 H. Smith Serm. (1622) 310 You are..like cyphers, which supply a place, but signifie nothing. a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 6 Like a Cypher (Yet standing in rich place) I multiply With one we thanke you, many thousands moe, That goe before it. 1660 J. Milton Readie Way Free Commonw. 4 Only like a great cypher set to no purpose before a long row of other significant figures. 1718 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher I. xvi. xxii. 336 With 39 Noughts or Cyphers following. 1822 M. Edgeworth Frank: Sequel III. 143 It was said..that all Cambridge scholars call the cipher aught and all Oxford scholars call it nought. 1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 4 The first nine are called Significant Figures, as distinguished from the cipher, which is of itself quite insignificant. †b. The zero-point, or zero, of a thermometer. U.S. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > zero > zero-point of thermometer cipher1796 the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > measurement of temperature > [noun] > instrument > specific degrees on a thermometer > zero of a thermometer cipher1796 zero1800 1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 475 The range of the quick~silver..is between the 24th degree below, and the 105th degree above cypher. 1815 D. Drake Nat. & Statist. View Cincinnati ii. 94 From nine years observations, at Cincinnati, it appears that the thermometer falls below cypher twice every winter. 2. figurative. a. A person who fills a place, but is of no importance or worth, a nonentity, a ‘mere nothing’. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > types of cipher?1507 cog1934 spear-carrier1960 token1968 ?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 45 He sunys to be sumthing worth, that syphyr in bour. 1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 8 If one bee harde in conceiuing, they pronounce him a dowlte,..if without speach, a Cypher. 1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre ii. v. 49 At this day the Romane Emperour is a very ciphre, without power or profit in Rome. 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) I. 252/1 The tribunes' office, which has made ciphers of the consuls. 1845 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 I. v. 259 The Raja was a cypher: the Dewan usurped the whole power. 1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. iii. 78 To the lady and lord rather—his lordship being little more than a cypher in the house. b. of things. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant thing of noughtc1425 nothing such1579 of nothing1583 nullitya1591 O1608 ciphera1616 zero1650 flinga1661 leather and prunella1734 small change1822 minus quantity1843 nuthin'1843 nothingburger1953 a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. ii. 39 Mine were the verie Cipher of a Function To fine the faults..And let goe by the Actor. View more context for this quotation 1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 2) viii. 105 The impotent estate being reduced to a cipher, is as if it had no existence. 3. In an extended sense, applied to all the Arabian numerals; a numeral figure; a number. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematical notation or symbol > [noun] > figure rimeeOE figure?c1225 numberc1300 digit?a1400 digitalc1450 cipher1530 term1552 terminus?a1560 significant figure1614 small figuresa1652 numeral1654 monasa1690 binary digit1796 nomial1828 supplement1868 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 684/2 I reken, I counte by cyfers of agrym. 1543 R. Record Ground of Artes i. sig. A.vii^v Of those .x. [figures] one doth sygnifie nothyng..and is called priuately a cyphar, though all the other somtyme be lykewyse named. 1656 T. Blount Glossographia Cipher, a figure or number. 1756 J. Warton Ess. on Pope I. iii. 183 It was Gerbert, who..is said to have introduced into France, the Arabian and Indian cypher. 1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xviii. i. 5 I remember to have seen ‘150 millions’ loosely given as the exaggerative cipher. 1875 Renouf's Egypt. Gram. 13 Numbers are almost always expressed by means of ciphers. †4. a. gen. A symbolic character, a hieroglyph. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > hieroglyph cipher1541 hieroglyph1598 hierogram1656 hierograph1835 determinative1862 1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) A iv They wolde have deuysed a strange syphre or fourme of letters, wherin they wold have writen their science. 1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. iv. 40 Yeat ware not their Letters facioned to ioyne together in sillables like ours, but Ziphres, and shapes of men and of beastes. 1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. v. §6. 78 In succeeding times this vnderstanding and wisdome began to be written in Ciphers, and Characters, and letters bearing the forme of beastes, birds, and other creatures. †b. An astrological sign or figure. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > astrology > [noun] > sign or device character1449 cipher1590 sigil1659 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ii. sig. Dd5 May learned be by cyphers, or by Magicke might. 1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. iii. 202 He Circles draws, and Squares With Cyphers, Astrall Characters. figurative.1841 R. W. Emerson Circles in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 303 The eye..is the highest emblem in the cipher of the world. 5. a. A secret or disguised manner of writing, whether by characters arbitrarily invented (apparently the earlier method), or by an arbitrary use of letters or characters in other than their ordinary sense, by making single words stand for sentences or phrases, or by other conventional methods intelligible only to those possessing the key; a cryptograph. Also anything written in cipher, and the key to such a system. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > code, cipher > [noun] cipher1528 steganography1569 polygraphy1593 jargon1594 cryptography1653 code1818 code language1875 society > communication > writing > system of writing > [noun] > disguised or secret writing cipher1528 scytale1579 polygraphy1593 cryptography1653 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > code, cipher > [noun] > key countercipher1598 key1605 code book1703 keyword1762 cipher-key1834 key card1841 cipher1885 1528 S. Gardiner in N. Pocock Rec. Reformation I. No. 48. 92 We think not convenient to write them, but only in cipher. 1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1371/1 Letters betweene them were alwaies written in cipher. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning* ii. sig. Qq The kindes of Cyphars..are many, according to the Nature or Rule of the infoulding: Wheele-Cyphars, Kay-Cyphars, Dovbles, &c. View more context for this quotation 1652 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 289 I had also addresses and cyphers, to correspond with his Majesty and Ministers abroad. 1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. i. 15 We admit the Key of a Cypher to be a true one, when it explains the Cypher completely. 1812 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) IX. 235 We have deciphered the letter you sent and it goes back to you with the key of the cipher. 1837 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. VI. xlix. 508 Intercepting of some of the correspondence in cipher. 1885 Gordon in Standard 24 Feb. Cypher letter..which I cannot decypher, for Colonel Stewart took the cypher with him. †b. ciphers n. Shorthand; = character n. 3c. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > system of writing > shorthand > [noun] ciphers1541 charactery1588 brachygraphy1590 stenography1602 characters1616 short-writing1620 shorthand1636 tachygraphy1641 steno1946 1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance ix. f. 17^v Secretaries or clerkes..in briefe notes or siphers made for that purpose, wrate euery worde that by those counsaylours was spoken. a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) i. 82 His Speeches were much heeded, and taken by divers in Ciphers. c. figurative. ΚΠ a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 12 To open the cipher of other mens thoughts. 1854 B. Taylor L'Envoi in Poems of Orient I found among the children of the Sun The cipher of my nature. 6. An intertexture of letters, esp. the initials of a name, engraved or stamped on plate, linen, etc.; a literal device, monogram; now esp. used of Turkish or Arabic names so expressed. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > letter > monogram ciphera1640 monogram1696 monograph1849 toughra1888 a1640 P. Massinger Beleeue as you List (1976) v. ii. 135 Pull out the stone, & vnder it you shall finde my name, and cipher I then vsde ingraven. a1672 A. Wood Life (1848) 87 (note) Above [the portrait] is his cypher. 1764 T. Harmer Observ. Passages Script. xix. x. 425 The Emir's flourish or cypher at the bottom, signifying, ‘The poor, the abject Mehemet, son of Turabeye’. 1824 J. Johnson Typographia I. 348 At the end is Caxton's cypher on a white ground. 1889 N.E.D. at Cipher Mod. Turkish coins bearing no device except the Sultan's cipher. 7. The continuous sounding of any note upon an organ, owing to the imperfect closing of the pallet or valve without any pressure upon the corresponding key. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > [noun] > sound of organ > harsh or unwanted cipher1779 wolf1788 ciphering1876 run1895 1779 C. Burney Infant Musician in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 69 198 He weakened the springs of two keys at once, which, by preventing the valves of the wind-chest from closing, occasioned a double cipher. 1884 W. S. Rockstro Mendelssohn xii. 82 During the course of the Fantasia..a long treble A began to sound on the swell..We well remember whispering to Mr. Vincent Novello..‘It must be a cypher’. Compounds C1. General attributive. a. cipher bishop n. (Sense 2.) ΚΠ 1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης iv. 37 That foolish and selfe-undoing Declaration of twelve Cypher Bishops. b. cipher-letter n. ΚΠ 1885 Gordon in Standard 24 Feb. Cypher letter..which I cannot decypher, for Colonel Stewart took the cypher with him. cipher-telegram n. ΚΠ 1880 Brit. Post. Guide 242 Cypher telegrams are those containing series or groups of figures or letters having a secret meaning; or words not to be found in a standard dictionary. cipher-writing n. (Sense 5.) c. cipher face n. ΚΠ 1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 64 A red And cipher face of rounded foolishness. C2. cipher-key n. the key to writings in cipher. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > code, cipher > [noun] > key countercipher1598 key1605 code book1703 keyword1762 cipher-key1834 key card1841 cipher1885 1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. iv. 12/1 Laughter: the cipher-key, wherewith we decipher the whole man! cipher officer n. an officer in the military or diplomatic services responsible for the coding and decoding of ciphers. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > study or science of written symbols > [noun] > in military, one who codes or decodes ciphers cipher officer1915 society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer according to function > [noun] > officers with other specific functions Master of the Artillery1512 trench-master1577 supernumerary1644 trench-sergeanta1753 beach-master1874 observation officer1904 censor1914 cipher officer1915 range safety officer1942 1915 O. Williams Let. 23 Mar. in C. Mackenzie Gallipoli Mem. (1929) ii. 7 I'm cipher officer on his Staff with the rank of Captain. 1948 Hansard Commons 11 Mar. 1539 The smooth running of an embassy abroad depends just as much on a happy, contented, well-paid staff of cipher officers..as..on the..head of the Mission. † cipher-tunnel n. Obsolete a false or mock chimney. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [noun] > chimney > specific type cipher-tunnel1655 kitchen lum1819 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. v. 197 The device of Cypher Tunnels or mock-Chimneys meerly for uniformity of building. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2022). cipherv. Brit. /ˈsʌɪfə/, U.S. /ˈsaɪfər/ Forms: Forms see n. Etymology: < cipher n. 1. a. intransitive. To use the Arabic numerals in the processes of arithmetic; to work the elementary rules of arithmetic; now chiefly a term of elementary education. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic > do arithmetic [verb (intransitive)] cipher1530 count1588 arithmetizea1658 to do one's sums1818 sum1838 figure1854 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 485/1 I cyfer, I acompte or reken by algorisme. 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Zifrare, to cifre or cast account. a1640 P. Massinger Guardian i. i. 42 in 3 New Playes (1655) Let him know No more than how to cypher well. 1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 208 'Twas certain he could write and cypher too. 1868 M. Pattison Suggestions Acad. Organisation 64 All children should learn to read, write, and cipher. b. transitive. To work out arithmetically. Also with out. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic > treat arithmetically [verb (transitive)] state1657 cipher1825 to figure up1854 arithmeticize1878 arithmetize1892 1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 172 Let each man take a slate and cipher it out. 1853 J. G. Baldwin Flush Times Alabama 91 A sum ciphered out through a long column. 1860 J. G. Holland Miss Gilbert's Career ii. 45 The manufacturer ciphered it with his eyes on the ceiling. c. To calculate, cast in the mind, think out. (U.S. colloquial.) ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > thought > think [verb (intransitive)] > think out cipher1837 1837–40 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker (1862) 18 The constable had a writ agin him, and he was cyphering a good while how he should catch him. 1850 R. W. Emerson Napoleon in Representative Men vi. 225 Bonaparte superadded to this mineral and animal force, insight and generalization,..as if the sea and land had taken flesh and begun to cipher. 1872 ‘M. Twain’ Roughing It xv. 124 She puzzles her brain to cipher out some scheme for getting it into my hands. 2. To express by characters of any kind; esp. to write in cipher or cryptogram. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > [verb (transitive)] awriteeOE writeOE speak?c1225 paintc1400 conscribec1487 blecka1500 cipher1565 letter1570 characterize1581 character1589 bewrite1660 scriven1680 quill1768 screeve1851 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > code, cipher > express in code [verb (transitive)] cipher1565 encipher1587 society > communication > writing > system of writing > [verb (transitive)] > write in secret writing cipher1565 1565–78 T. Cooper Thesaurus Notis scribere, to cipher. 1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 1345/1 Not only the Priestes that mary, but them also that say or cyphre that a Priest maie mary. 1594 T. Blundeville Exercises v. vi. f. 256 Such a kinde of writing [sc. Chinese], that euery man of what nation so euer..might pronounce in his mother tongue, euen as it were ciphered. a1627 J. Hayward Life & Raigne Edward Sixt (1630) 9 His notes he cyphered with greeke characters to the end that they who waited on him should not read them. 1779 S. Johnson Cowley in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets I. 11 He..was employed..in ciphering and deciphering the letters that passed between the king and queen. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. iv. iii. 219 Letters go in cipher,—one of them,..hard to decipher; Fersen having ciphered it in haste. †3. gen. To express, show forth, make manifest by any outward signs, portray, delineate. Const. forth, out. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > manifestation > [verb (transitive)] uppec897 atewOE sutelec1000 openOE awnc1175 kithec1175 forthteec1200 tawnec1220 let witc1275 forthshowa1300 to pilt out?a1300 showa1300 barea1325 mythc1330 unfoldc1374 to open outc1390 assign1398 mustera1400 reyve?a1400 vouchc1400 manifest?a1425 outshowc1425 ostendc1429 explayc1443 objecta1500 reveala1500 patefy?1509 decipher1529 relieve1533 to set outa1540 utter1542 report1548 unbuckle1548 to set forth1551 demonstrate1553 to hold forth1560 testify1560 explicate1565 forthsetc1565 to give show of1567 denudec1572 exhibit1573 apparent1577 display?1578 carry1580 cipher1583 laya1586 foreshow1590 uncloud?1594 vision1594 explain1597 proclaim1597 unroll1598 discloud1600 remonstrate1601 resent1602 to bring out1608 palesate1613 pronounce1615 to speak out1623 elicit1641 confess1646 bear1657 breathe1667 outplay1702 to throw out1741 evolve1744 announce1781 develop1806 exfoliate1808 evince1829 exposit1882 pack1925 1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Bv You do well to request me to cipher foorth vnto you parte of those great Abuses. a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. E More I could not sipher out by signes. 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. C2 The Herrald will contriue, To cipher me how fondlie I did dote. View more context for this quotation 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. K2 The face of eyther cypher'd eythers heart. View more context for this quotation 1640 J. Gough Strange Discov. i. i Read the characters Of gravity and wisdome ciphered in Your aged face. †4. To decipher. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > expound, explain [verb (transitive)] arecchec885 unloukOE overrunOE sutelec1000 trahtnec1000 unfolda1050 belayc1175 openc1175 onopena1200 accountc1300 undo?a1366 remenea1382 interpret1382 unwrap1387 exploitc1390 enlumine1393 declarec1400 expoundc1400 unplait?c1400 enperc1420 planea1425 clearc1440 exponec1440 to lay outc1440 to give (also carry) lightc1449 unwind1482 expose1483 reducea1500 manifest1530 explicate1531 explaina1535 unlock?1536 dilucidate1538 elucidate1538 illustrate1538 rechec1540 explicate1543 illucidate1545 enucleate1548 unsnarl1555 commonstrate1563 to lay forth1577 straighten1577 unbroid1577 untwist1577 decipherc1586 illuminate1586 enlighten1587 resolvec1592 cipher1594 eliquidate1596 to take (a person) with one1599 rivelc1600 ravel1604 unbowel1606 unmist1611 extricate1614 unbolta1616 untanglea1616 enode1623 unperplexa1631 perspicuate1634 explata1637 unravel1637 esclarea1639 clarify1642 unweave1642 detenebrate1646 dismystery1652 undecipher1654 unfork1654 unparadox1654 reflect1655 enodate1656 unmysterya1661 liquidatea1670 recognize1676 to clear upa1691 to throw sidelight on1726 to throw (also cast, shed) light on (also upon)1731 eclaircise1754 irradiate1864 unbraid1880 predigest1905 to get (something) straight1920 disambiguate1960 demystify1963 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. F4 The illiterate that know not how To cipher what is writ in learned bookes. View more context for this quotation †5. To express by a cipher, monogram, or the like. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > written character > represent by written character [verb (transitive)] > express by or decorate with monogram ciphera1628 encipher1651 monogram1912 a1628 F. Greville Cælica lxxv, in Certaine Wks. (1633) 221 Wherein my name cyphred were. 1688 London Gaz. No. 2323/4 Which Watch belongeth to John Irving Esq.; and has his Name cyphered in silver Studds upon the Case. †6. To make a cipher of, make nought of. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to undoc950 shendOE forfarea1000 endc1000 to do awayOE aquenchc1175 slayc1175 slayc1175 stathea1200 tinea1300 to-spilla1300 batec1300 bleschea1325 honisha1325 leesea1325 wastec1325 stanch1338 corrumpa1340 destroy1340 to put awayc1350 dissolvec1374 supplanta1382 to-shend1382 aneantizec1384 avoidc1384 to put outa1398 beshenda1400 swelta1400 amortizec1405 distract1413 consumec1425 shelfc1425 abroge1427 downthringc1430 kill1435 poisonc1450 defeat1474 perish1509 to blow away1523 abrogatea1529 to prick (also turn, pitch) over the perka1529 dash?1529 to bring (also send) to (the) pot1531 put in the pot1531 wipea1538 extermine1539 fatec1540 peppera1550 disappoint1563 to put (also set) beside the saddle1563 to cut the throat of1565 to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch1568 to make a hand of (also on, with)1569 demolish1570 to break the neck of1576 to make shipwreck of1577 spoil1578 to knock on (in) the head (also rarely at head)1579 cipher1589 ruinate1590 to cut off by the shins1592 shipwreck1599 exterminate1605 finish1611 damnify1612 ravel1614 braina1616 stagger1629 unrivet1630 consummate1634 pulverizea1640 baffle1649 devil1652 to blow up1660 feague1668 shatter1683 cook1708 to die away1748 to prove fatal (to)1759 to knock up1764 to knock (or kick) the hindsight out or off1834 to put the kibosh on1834 to cook (rarely do) one's goose1835 kibosh1841 to chaw up1843 cooper1851 to jack up1870 scuttle1888 to bugger up1891 jigger1895 torpedo1895 on the fritz1900 to put paid to1901 rot1908 down and out1916 scuppera1918 to put the skids under1918 stonker1919 liquidate1924 to screw up1933 cruel1934 to dig the grave of1934 pox1935 blow1936 to hit for six1937 to piss up1937 to dust off1938 zap1976 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie Ep. Ded. sig. ABiij I considered that bestowyng vpon your Lordship the first vewe of this mine impression (a feat of mine owne simple facultie) it could not scypher her Maiesties honour or prerogatiue in the guift, nor yet the Authour of his thanks. 7. Cricket. To assign a cipher to in the score, put out without scoring. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > dismissal of batsman > put out [verb (transitive)] > without scoring cipher1882 1882 Daily Tel. 12 June Neither he [Butler] nor Selby were destined to stay long, the former being cyphered to a full toss from Garrett, and the latter very finely caught by Bonnor. 8. intransitive. Of an organ: To sound any note continuously without pressure on the corresponding key. See cipher n. 7. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > sound of instruments > sound [verb (intransitive)] > organ wailing howl1687 cipher1779 wolve1864 15.. in Grose's Antiquarian Repertory (1809) IV. 407 To myche wyndinge of the pipis is not the best, Whiche may cause them to sypher wher armoney shulde rest. 15.. in Grose's Antiquarian Repertory (1809) IV. 407 Wronge handlynge of the stoppis may cause them sipher fro the kynde. 1779 C. Burney Infant Musician in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 69 198 While he was playing the organ, a particular note hung, or, to speak the language of organ-builders, ciphered, by which the tone was continued without the pressure of the finger. 1869 Haweis Good Words Supp. 1 Mar. 10/2 The organist is disturbed if his organ begins to cipher. 9. Naval Architecture. To bevel or chamfer away. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > inclination > incline [verb (transitive)] > bevel cant1542 splay1598 chamfret1611 cipher1674 bevel1678 bezel1680 chamfer1688 champer1788 scarf1831 to wash off1833 splay1879 1674 W. Petty Disc. before Royal Soc. 23 If the same Triangular head [of a ship] be cyphered away into an Angle from bottom to top. 1711 London Gaz. No. 4935/4 Having the Edge next towards the Lince pin Cyphered off. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1399v.15..
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