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Crypto- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “hidden, secret.” It is used in many scientific, medical, and other technical terms.

Crypto- comes from the Greek �������ó��, meaning “hidden.” The word crypt also derives from this root. Dig up the connection at our entry for the word.

In anatomy, crypto- specifically refers to a crypt in its specialized sense of a “slender pit or recess” or a “small glandular cavity.”

Crypt- is a variant of crypto-, which loses its -o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.

Want to know more? Read our 51�Թ�s That Use crypto- article.

The combining form crypt- is featured in the word cryptonym, meaning “a secret name or word” or “a code name or code word.”

The first part of the word, crypt-, means “secret.” The second part, -onym, means “word” or “name.” Cryptonym literally means “secret name.”

What are some words that use or are related to the combining form crypt-?

• cryptanalyst
• cryptesthesia
• cryptectomy
• cryptic (from Greek ������پ���ó��)
• cryptitis

What are some other forms that crypt- may be commonly confused with?

• cortico-
• cryo-
• cteno-

The combining form -ectomy means “excision.” What does the medical procedure cryptectomy involve?