Etymology

chiffre

C3H4I1F4F4R1E1

Today it means: A figure or motif (short melodic or lyrical passage that is repeated). Full definition →

French chiffre
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The story

  1. French · borrowed fromchiffre
  2. English todaychiffre

Borrowed from French chiffre. Doublet of cipher and zero.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.