"Cipher"

[hughes@ah.com (Eric Hughes)]

>  Neil Postman, in his *Technopoly*, asserts that the word "cipher" derives 
>ultimately from the Hindu word for void, and therefore "suggests the idea 
>of nothingness." (p 128) Does anyone else have info on the origin of this 
>word? Is Postman correct?

The use of the word 'cipher' as 'zero', both for a number and for a
loser, has only fairly recently fallen out of general use.  I've seen
references to the word in works from the 50's and 60's where is use
was not meant as an obscuring device.

The use of 'cipher' in 'ciphertext' has this same connotation, that
the text says nothing, that is, by itself.

Eric