Decoding

How to spell decoding

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce decoding

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does decoding mean?

1. verbConverting a coded, encrypted, or written message back into a form that can be understood.
2. nounThe skill of translating written letters and groups of letters into spoken sounds when reading.

Decoding in a sentence

• verb

  The analyst spent the morning decoding the intercepted radio signal.

• noun

  The literacy course focuses on decoding before moving on to comprehension.

• verb

  Decoding the doctor's handwriting took her several minutes.

• noun

  Strong decoding helps a new reader sound out unfamiliar words.

Where does decoding come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on 'code', which traces back to the Latin codex, originally meaning the trunk of a tree and then a block of wood split into writing tablets, and finally a book or systematic set of laws. From 'code' English formed the verb 'decode', combining the prefix 'de-' (meaning to reverse or undo an action) with 'code', so that to decode literally means to undo a code and recover the plain message inside it. The verb appeared in the nineteenth century alongside the rise of telegraphy and secret signalling, and 'decoding' is its present participle and gerund, naming the act itself. The very same codex root survives in everyday words such as 'codex' and 'codify', and the spelling stays regular because the silent 'e' of 'code' is simply dropped before the '-ing' ending. The modern sense has broadened well beyond ciphers to cover any process of working out meaning, from radio signals to the way a child reads written letters as sounds.

How the word is built

• de- (reverse, undo)
• cod (from Latin codex: code)
• -ing (verbal noun / present participle)