crypto

== English == === Etymology === All senses trace back to clippings of words derived from the prefix crypto-, developed at various times in the 20th and 21st centuries. During the 2010s and 2020s, the "cryptocurrency" sense has become the dominant sense. The "cryptography" sense predates that one; thus, a computer or math geek in earlier decades would be referring to cryptography when using this word. The "secret supporter or follower" sense is clipped from such terms as cryptofascist and cryptocommunist. The several informal senses in medicine referring to several microbe genera or the diseases they cause have existed since circa the mid-20th century. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɪptəʊ/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɪptoʊ/ Rhymes: -ɪptəʊ === Noun === crypto (countable and uncountable, plural cryptos) (informal, cryptocurrencies) Clipping of cryptocurrency (uncountable, informal) Clipping of cryptography A secret supporter or follower. (informal, medicine) Clipping of cryptococcus (informal, medicine) Clipping of cryptococcosis (informal, medicine) Clipping of cryptosporidium (informal, pathology) Clipping of cryptosporidiosis ==== Derived terms ==== big crypto crypto business cryptobro crypto wallet crypto winter === Adjective === crypto (comparative more crypto, superlative most crypto) Secret or covert. (Can we add an example for this sense?) ==== Related terms ==== crypto- == Latin == === Noun === cryptō dative/ablative singular of crypton == Portuguese == === Noun === crypto f (plural cryptos) alternative form of cripto