xifra

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈʃi.fɾə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [ˈʃi.fɾa], [ˈt͡ʃi.fɾa]

• Audio

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Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic صِفْر (ṣifr, “empty”). First attested in the 14th century.

Noun

xifra f (plural xifres)

1. numeral (a symbol that is not a word and represents a number)

   Synonym: guarisme

2. (by extension) number; amount

   Synonyms: nombre, número, suma

   • 2020 August 8, Adom Getachew, “El colonialisme va fer el món modern: refem-lo [Colonialism made the modern world: let's remake it]”, in Ara‎^[1]:

     Entre el 1945 i el 1975, a mesura que es van guanyar les lluites per la independència a l’Àfrica i l’Àsia, la xifra de membres de les Nacions Unides va passar de 51 països a 144.

     Between 1945 and 1975, as the fights for independence in Africa and Asia were being won, the number of United Nations members when from 51 countries to 144.

3. cipher (a method of transforming a text in order to conceal its meaning)

Derived terms

• contraxifra
• xifra aràbiga
• xifra romana
• xifrar

 

Further reading

• “xifra” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “xifra” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “xifra” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Etymology 2

Verb

xifra

1. inflection of xifrar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative