descifrar

/desθiˈfɾaɾ/ · B2 · verb

to decipher

🔍🔐 des- (undo) + cifra (code/cipher) + -ar = to undo the cipher

Descifrar breaks into des- (undo), cifra (cipher, from Arabic sifr, zero or empty), and the verb ending -ar. So it literally means to undo a cipher. Compare English cipher and decipher, which follow the same pattern.

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