ciphering
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ci·pher
also cy·pher (sī′fər)n.
1. The mathematical symbol (0) denoting absence of quantity; zero.
2. An Arabic numeral or figure; a number.
3. One having no influence or value; a nonentity.
4.
a. A cryptographic system in which units of text of regular length, usually letters, are transposed or substituted according to a predetermined code.
b. The key to such a system.
c. A message written or transmitted in such a system.
5. A design combining or interweaving letters or initials; a monogram.
v. ci·phered, ci·pher·ing, ci·phers also cy·phered or cy·pher·ing or cy·phered
v.intr.
To solve problems in arithmetic; calculate.
v.tr.
1. To put in secret writing; encode.
2. To solve by means of arithmetic.
[Middle English cifre, from Old French, from Medieval Latin cifra, from Arabic ṣifr, from ṣafira, to be empty (translation of Sanskrit śūnyam, cipher, dot); see ṣpr in Semitic roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ciphering
(ˈsaɪfərɪŋ)adj
calculating
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014