Prefix · concealment · secret
Means "hidden" or "secret": cryptography, cryptocurrency, cryptic, cryptogram, cryptologist.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Crypto- comes from the Greek kryptos, which means "hidden" or "secret". It appears in vocabulary about security, science and language. It always talks about something concealed, encoded or not visible at first sight.
Crypto- connects the past with the present. Medieval crypts were hidden underground spaces, coded messages were used in espionage, and today cryptography protects your data online. Cryptocurrencies use that same idea to secure every transaction.
Combines with Greek and Latin roots in security, science, and language:
Pronunciation: /ˈkrɪp.toʊ/.
crypto-/ˈkrɪp.toʊ/
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Rule of thumb: if a message is mysterious and hard to interpret, use "cryptic"; if someone is judging or reviewing something, use "critical/critic". Different Greek roots: kryptos (hidden) vs. krinein (to judge).
A trick to remember it
Same root as "crypt-": hidden, secret. cryptocurrency, cryptic.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
When a message is described as "cryptic", it means...
The prefix crypto- means "hidden" or "secret": cryptography, cryptocurrency, cryptic, cryptogram, cryptologist.
The prefix crypto- is pronounced /ˈkrɪp.toʊ/. For example, "cryptography".
"graphy" becomes "cryptography". It is a typical example of the crypto- prefix.
From Greek "kryptos" (hidden, secret): appears in words about codes and secrets, like cryptography and decrypt.
Signals beyond, transformation, or self-reference: metaphor, metamorphosis, metadata, metaverse.
Signals something false or pretending to be what it is not: pseudonym, pseudoscience, pseudocode.
un-, re-, pre-, dis-, over-, in-... every beginning you need to unlock thousands of English words at once.