Nota: La traducción de esta entrada está actualmente en revisión de calidad, por lo que parte del contenido se muestra temporalmente solo en inglés.
Esta entrada aún no se ha traducido a tu idioma, así que se muestra el original a continuación.
cypher
The term is most commonly encountered today in the context of cryptography. While 'cipher' is the more frequent spelling in American English, 'cypher' is a recognized variant. In this context, it refers to the algorithm or system used for encryption. It carries a technical, precise connotation.
When used to describe a person, it is a highly metaphorical and derogatory term. It suggests that the person is a hollow shell or a placeholder—someone who holds a position of authority but possesses no actual power or personality. This usage is literary and formal, rarely found in casual conversation.
The meanings relating to the digit zero and the act of performing arithmetic are largely archaic or historical. You will encounter these in 18th or 19th-century literature rather than in modern speech. Using 'cypher' to mean 'calculate' in a contemporary business meeting would be perceived as an intentional anachronism or an eccentricity.
Meanings
Examples
The spy used a complex cypher to hide the location of the rendezvous.
I must cypher this dispatch before sending it to the front lines.
He felt like a mere cypher in the vast bureaucracy of the empire.
The ancient manuscript was written in a cypher that no one could crack.
She spent the afternoon trying to cypher the accounts for the quarterly report.
Wait, is this a cypher or just a random string of characters?
In the old ledger, the scribe added a cypher to mark the end of the column.
He is nothing more than a political cypher with no real power.