Both Uses of
cipher
in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- It was a very angular and very lively little mass, imprisoned in its linen sack, stamped with the cipher of Messire Guillaume Chartier, then bishop of Paris, with a head projecting.†
Chpt 1.4.1 *
- The gypsy looked at the hilt, the blade; examined the cipher on the guard with adorable curiosity, and kissed the sword, saying,— You are the sword of a brave man.†
Chpt 2.7.8
Definitions:
-
(1)
(cipher as in: a secret cipher) to write a message in a secret code; or such a message; or a substitution table or other system used to encode and decode such a message
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
At one time, cipher frequently referenced the act of doing mathematical calculations or a person capable of such calculations.
A cipher can also refer to a person without power or influence. It can also refer to the mathematical digit, zero.
A comprehensive dictionary will describe other less common senses of cipher.