skytale

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A form of scytale — A cylinder with a strip of parchment wound around it on which a message is written, used for cryptography by the ancient Spartans.

OriginAncient Greek σκυτάλη →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounskytale (plural skytales)

plural skytales

  1. alternativeAlternative form of scytale.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekσκυτάλη“club, baton, cylinder used for encoding and decoding”
  2. Englishskytale

From Ancient Greek σκυτάλη (skutálē, “club, baton, cylinder used for encoding and decoding”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

skytale. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skytale

MLA

“skytale.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skytale. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skytale,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skytale.

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