What is the Latin word for cipher?

The usual Latin words for “cipher” are littera, zērum, nōtus; also ratiōcinor. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“cipher” in Latin

litteraletter (of the alphabet); handwriting; letter, epistle zērumzero nōtusfamiliar, customary, in common use; widely known, famous, well-known; of great renown, illustrious, celebrated, notoriou ratiōcinorto reckon, compute or calculate; to consider, deliberate or meditate; to argue, infer or conclude

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

cipher

*nota numeri; littera (with the ancients, since they used letters to express numbers): *zero (a cipher indicating a nought).

Nothingness, to be a cipher, numerum esse (figuratively, only serve for filling up, as Hor., Ep., 1, 2, 27, nos numerus sumus): nihil valere; nihil auctoritatis habere; nulla alicujus habetur ratio (stronger): nullo in oratorum numero esse (of an orator): to become a mere cipher, ad nihilum venire.

Conventional or occult marks of writing, notae (Suet.): litterae secretiores (Gell.): what is written in cipher, furtivum scriptum (Gell.). To write in cipher, per notas scribere (Suet., Caes., 56): to make out what is written in cipher, investigare et persequi notas.

cipher v.

ratiocinari: to learn to cipher, or ciphering, *arithmetica discere: to be experienced in ciphering, in arithmeticis satis exercitatum esse.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for cipher?: The usual Latin words for “cipher” are littera, zērum, nōtus; also ratiōcinor. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.