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Glite Dictionary
💻 A code device 🕵️ A coded message
cryptograph

cryptograph

1 9.9
A machine that decodes secret messages
  • noun
  • /ˈkrɪptoʊˌɡræf/
  • Specialized
translation icon : criptógrafo
  • The military used a special cryptograph to decode enemy messages during the war.

Examples

  • A malfunction in the cryptograph rendered the encrypted message unreadable.

  • Early scientists developed the cryptograph to help protect confidential information.

  • The cryptograph revealed the hidden message.

  • Have you seen the new cryptograph at the museum?

  • The intelligence officer used the cryptograph to decode the enemy's secret messages.

  • With the new cryptograph, they could easily decipher complex codes that were once impossible to read.

  • He relied on a sophisticated cryptograph to interpret the ancient texts hidden in the vault.

Synonyms

decoder
vscryptograph
  • Specialized
6 4.0

A device that turns coded or secret messages into readable language

has identical function but named for decoding codes and ciphers
codebreaker
vscryptograph
1 4.6

A person, machine, or program that finds the meaning of secret messages

is a device that refers only to machines, not people or programs

Surface Forms

cryptograph singular
cryptographs plural

Morphology

cryptograph = graph (opaque) = crypto + graph

Although the same formal parts are present, the 'decoding machine' sense is a specialized extension that is not straightforwardly predictable from 'secret writing'.

Etymology

Cryptograph also uses the roots crypto- 'hidden' and -graph 'write', so you can think of it as a tool for 'hidden writing'. That's why a cryptograph can mean a machine that makes or reads coded messages to help decode secret information.