שיפֿער

Yiddish

Etymology 1

From Middle High German schiffære, schiffere, from Old High German *skiffāri, from Proto-Germanic *skipārijaz (“sailor”). By surface analysis, שיף (shif, “ship”) +‎ ־ער (-er). Compare German Schiffer.

Noun

שיפֿער • (shifer) m, plural שיפֿערס (shifers), feminine שיפֿערין (shiferin)

1. sailor (worker on a ship)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French chiffre, probably via Polish szyfr and/or Russian шифр (šifr) rather than German Chiffre.

Noun

שיפֿער • (shifer) m, plural שיפֿערן (shifern)

1. cipher, code

Derived terms

• שיפֿרירן (shifrirn)
• דעשיפֿרירן (deshifrirn, “to decode, decipher”)