cryptograph

American  

[krip-tuh-graf, -grahf] / ˈkrɪp təˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

noun

1. cryptogram.

2. a system of secret writing; cipher.

3. a device for translating clear text into cipher.

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cryptograph British  

/ -ˌɡrɑːf, ˈkrɪptəʊˌɡræf /

noun

1. something written in code or cipher

2. a code using secret symbols ( cryptograms )

3. a device for translating text into cipher, or vice versa

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Etymology

Origin of cryptograph

First recorded in 1635–45; crypto- + -graph

Example Sentences

Still, the few figures etched on old cemetery headstones are like cryptographs, offering clues to visitors trying to crack the mystical code of how lives were lived.

From New York Times

Natural history is not a cryptograph to be deciphered, it is a series of facts and incidents to be observed and recorded.

From Project Gutenberg

I mean to have a try at our cryptograph.

From Project Gutenberg

Golconda: a place near Hyderabad, India, noted for its diamonds. cryptographs: from two Greek words meaning hidden and write.

From Project Gutenberg

I declare it puts me in mind of a cryptograph," he cried, "unless, indeed, the letters have been written without any real meaning; and yet why take so much trouble?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cipher