'encipher' originates from the prefix 'en-' meaning 'to cause to be' and the word 'cipher' from Arabic 'ṣifr' meaning 'zero' or 'empty'.

'encipher' evolved from the French word 'chiffrer', which meant 'to put into cipher'.

Initially, it meant 'to put into cipher', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.