cryptic. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

cryptic

SYLLABICATION:	cryp·tic
PRONUNCIATION:	krptk
VARIANT FORMS:	also cryp·ti·cal (-t-kl)
ADJECTIVE:	1. Having hidden meaning; mystifying. See synonyms at ambiguous. 2. Secret or occult. 3. Using code or cipher. 4. Biology Tending to conceal or camouflage: cryptic coloring.
ETYMOLOGY:	Late Latin crypticus, from Greek kruptikos, from kruptos, hidden, from kruptein, to hide.
OTHER FORMS:	crypti·cal·ly —ADVERB cryptic·ness —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.