Encrypted

How to spell encrypted

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce encrypted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does encrypted mean?

1. verbConverted information into a coded form so that only authorised people can read it.
2. adjectiveStored or transmitted in coded form that cannot be read without a key.

Encrypted in a sentence

• verb

  The bank encrypted every message before sending it across the network.

• adjective

  The encrypted backup could not be opened without the recovery password.

• verb

  She encrypted the contract files before uploading them to the shared drive.

• adjective

  All payment details travel through an encrypted connection.

Where does encrypted come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the ancient Greek kryptos, meaning 'hidden' or 'secret', the same root that gives us 'crypt' (an underground hidden chamber) and 'cryptic' (deliberately obscure). English took 'crypt' from Latin crypta, itself borrowed from the Greek, and in the twentieth century coined the verb 'encrypt' by adding the prefix en-, which means 'to put into' or 'to cause to be', so the word literally means 'to put into hidden form'. The form 'encrypted' is the past tense and past participle, widely used as both a verb and an adjective once computing and secure communication made the idea everyday. The spelling trap is the silent, schwa-like 'y' standing where many writers expect an 'i', a leftover of the Greek upsilon; remembering the link to 'crypt' keeps that 'y' in place.

How the word is built

• en- (to put into)
• crypt (from Greek kryptos: hidden, secret)
• -ed (past tense/participle)