"Cipher"

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