κρυπτικός

Forms

κρυπτῐκός (kruptikós) m (feminine κρυπτῐκή, neuter κρυπτῐκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek κρύπτω (krúptō, “to hide”) + -τικός (-tikós).^[1][2] Beekes notes that κρύπτω (krúptō) has no good Indo-European etymology and may be Pre-Greek.^[3] It recalls καλύπτω (kalúptō, “to cover”) and Old Church Slavonic крꙑти (kryti, “to hide”).^[3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record is the adverb κρυπτικῶς in Aristotle's Topics, of asking questions in a concealing, guarded way.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

The adjective is rare.^[7] In the 3rd century AD Alexander of Aphrodisias uses it in his commentary on Aristotle's Topics in the sense “obscuring”.^[5][2]

Late Latin crypticus gave English cryptic in the 1630s, first “hidden, occult”, and “mysterious” only from about 1920.^[8] Modern Greek κρυπτικός (kryptikós) is linked with the crypt: it refers to the crypts of the Christians, to the crypts of an organ in medicine, and in biology to protective (cryptic) colouring.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses the adverb κρυπτικῶς of putting questions in a concealing way.^[5][11]
• 3rd century AD – Alexander of Aphrodisias uses it in the sense “obscuring”.^[5][11]
• 1630s – English takes cryptic from Late Latin.^[8]
• Modern Greek – The word refers to crypts, in medicine to the crypts of the tonsils, and in biology to cryptic colouring.^[9][10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Fit for concealing, obscuring, disguising one's purpose.^[5][2][12]
2. (adverb κρυπτικῶς) In a concealing, guarded way.^[5][6]

Related words

• κρυπτός (kruptós)
• Latin crypticus
• English cryptic

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
5. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
10. ^ a b Πολυλεξικό, in the encyclopedia Επιστήμη και Ζωή, Athens
11. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
12. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli