ciphering
‘writing in secret code or occult characters’
Lexical development traced from the Tamil root:
O.F. cifre ‘nought, zero,’ Med.Lat. cifra < Arab. sifr ‘zero’ < safara ‘to be empty’ < Skt. sunya-s ‘empty’< saifur < kaput- < Tamil kappu
ciphering
‘writing in secret code or occult characters’
Lexical development traced from the Tamil root:
O.F. cifre ‘nought, zero,’ Med.Lat. cifra < Arab. sifr ‘zero’ < safara ‘to be empty’ < Skt. sunya-s ‘empty’< saifur < kaput- < Tamil kappu
English words derived from Tamil kappal connoting 'ship'