cryptography

English

Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin cryptographia, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek κρῠπτογρᾰφῐ́ᾱ (krŭptogrăphĭ́ā). By surface analysis, crypto- +‎ -graphy.

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: krĭptŏgʹrəfē, IPA(key): [kɹ̥ɪpˈtʰɒɡɹəfiː], /kɹɪpˈtɒɡ.ɹə.fi/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Rhymes: -ɒɡɹəfi

    Noun

    cryptography (usually uncountable, plural cryptographies)

    1. The discipline that embodies the principles, means, and methods for transforming data to hide its semantic content, prevent unauthorized use, or detect modifications, while also ensuring information security through confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and nonrepudiation.
      Holonym: cryptology
      Comeronym: cryptanalysis

    Usage notes

    • Subfields include encoding, decoding, cryptanalysis, codes, ciphers, etc.
    • In many languages, though less so in English, cognates to cryptology are also used with the meaning given above, and even preferred.
    • Related to cryptography but distinct, steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no-one apart from the sender and intended recipient even realizes there is a hidden message.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    See also

    • Appendix:Glossary of cryptography
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