Punycode

P3U1N1Y4C3O1D2E1

proper noun

A mapping from Unicode to the simpler ASCII character set, intended for the representation of international domain names where Unicode is not available.

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Meanings

proper noun

alternative punycode

  1. computingA mapping from Unicode to the simpler ASCII character set, intended for the representation of international domain names where Unicode is not available.

    Punycode is an encoding, or an escape scheme (depending on how you look at it), for a specific purpose: implementing Internationalized Domain Names (IDN).

    2006, Jukka Korpela, Unicode Explained, O'Reilly Media, Inc., →ISBN, page 322

Origin

Blend of puny + Unicode.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Punycode. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Punycode

MLA

“Punycode.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Punycode. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Punycode,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Punycode.

Source: Punycode on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.