Meanings
plural cryptonyms
- A secret name, a code name.
The spy was known only by his cryptonym, 'Shadow'.
1 more example
MI6 code-named him REDWOOD. He stood over 6 feet 4 inches, a head taller than his case officer; the cryptonym was chosen for the world’s tallest tree (the standard rule that code names be unrevealing is, as Macintyre observes, ignored by every service on earth).
2026 September 13, Joseph Finder, “The Sexual Secret That Foiled a Communist Plot”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
From crypto- (“hidden, secret”) + -onym (“name”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian кодово наименование
- кодово наименование (kodovo naimenovanie)secret name, code name
Czech kryptonym
- kryptonymsecret name, code name
Estonian krüptonüüm, salanimi
- krüptonüümsecret name, code name
- salanimisecret name, code name
French cryptonyme
- cryptonymesecret name, code name
German Kryptonym
- Kryptonymsecret name, code name
Hungarian fedőnév
- fedőnévsecret name, code name
Italian criptonimo
- criptonimosecret name, code name
Polish kryptonim
- kryptonimsecret name, code name
Portuguese criptônimo, criptónimo
- criptônimosecret name, code name
- criptónimosecret name, code name
Slovak kryptonym
- kryptonymsecret name, code name
Welsh enw cudd
- enw cuddsecret name, code name
Cite this entry
cryptonym. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cryptonym
“cryptonym.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cryptonym. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cryptonym,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cryptonym.
Source: cryptonym on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.