cryptic en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈkɹɪptɪk/
Etymology
From Late Latin crypticus, from Ancient Greek κρυπτικός (kruptikós), from κρυπτός (kruptós, “hidden”), from κρύπτω (krúptō, “to hide”). Doublet of kryptic.
Meanings
- Having hidden (unapparent) meaning.
-
Mystified or of an obscure nature; not easy to perceive.
Even the putatively innocuous whimsical shapes and designs of cakes and pastry, notably in Central Europe, retain to this day the phallic concept, the cryptic induration of the aphrodisiac function.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:I think the Original of this conceit might be, That the Students of Nature, conſcious to her more cryptick wayes of working, reſolve many ſtrange effects into the nearer efficiency of ſecond cauſes[…]
1665, Joseph Glanvill, “An Apology for Philosophy”, in Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the way to Science, London: E. Cotes, page 182:
- Involving use of a code or cipher.
- (qualifier:crosswording) Of a crossword puzzle, or a clue in such a puzzle, using, in addition to definitions, wordplay such as anagrams, homophones and hidden words to indicate solutions.
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Well camouflaged; having good camouflage.
Lonomia caterpillars are extremely cryptic.
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Serving as camouflage.
cryptic colouring
Episematic characters are far less common than aposematic, and these than cryptic; although, as regards the latter comparison, the opposite impression is generally produced from the fact that concealment is so successfully attained.
1911, “Colours of Animals”, in The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition, volume V, page 732:
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(not-comparable) Apparently identical, but actually genetically distinct.
cryptic species
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Living in a cavity or small cave.
Much of the Permian Capitan reef was strongly differentiated into open surface and cryptic communities.
1999, Rachel Wood, Reef Evolution, page 95:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most cryptic | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more cryptic | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| cryptick | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Deriveds
crypticness · cryptic species · uncryptic · cryptic crossword · noncryptic · anticryptic · pseudocryptic · holocryptic · crypticity · cryptic ovulation · semicryptic · cryptic definition
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (33)
el κρυπτικός (having hidden meaning) · fr cryptique (having hidden meaning) · es críptico (having hidden meaning) · ru загадочный (mystified or of an obscure nature) · pl niejasny (mystified or of an obscure nature) · fr mystérieux (mystified or of an obscure nature) · tr gizemli (mystified or of an obscure nature) · ca críptic (having hidden meaning) · ar مُبْهَم (mystified or of an obscure nature) · eo kripta (having hidden meaning) · mi tākirikiri (having hidden meaning) · ko 숨은 뜻을 가진 (having hidden meaning) · mi tākirikiri (mystified or of an obscure nature) · bg таен (having hidden meaning) · nl cryptisch (mystified or of an obscure nature) · bg шифрован (involving use of code or cipher) · el κρυπτικός (mystified or of an obscure nature) · tr şifreli (involving use of code or cipher) · bg загадъчен (mystified or of an obscure nature) · es críptico (involving use of code or cipher) · pt críptico (having hidden meaning) · es críptico (mystified or of an obscure nature) · fr énigmatique (mystified or of an obscure nature) · de kryptisch (mystified or of an obscure nature) · de kryptisch (involving use of code or cipher) · ko 아리송한 (mystified or of an obscure nature) · nl cryptisch (having hidden meaning) · ca críptic (mystified or of an obscure nature) · pt críptico (mystified or of an obscure nature) · de kryptisch (having hidden meaning) · pt críptico (involving use of code or cipher) · it criptico (having hidden meaning) · he מוצפן (involving use of code or cipher)