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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.”

What are variants of crypto-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, crypto- becomes crypt-, as in cryptitis.

One word you may have encountered that features the combining form crypto- is cryptogram, meaning “a message or writing in code or cypher.”

As we know, crypto- means “secret.” The second part of the word, –gram, means “something written”—like a note. Cryptogram, then, has a literal sense of “secret note.”

What are some words that use the combining form crypto-?

• cryptoanalysis
• cryptobiosis
• cryptoclimatology
• cryptocurrency
• cryptography
• cryptolith
• cryptomenorrhea
• cryptometer
• cryptophyte
• cryptology
• cryptozoology

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

• cortico-
• cryo-
• cteno-

Cryptozoology is the search for mythical creatures like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. Given that zoology is “the science or branch of biology dealing with animals,” what does cryptozoology literally mean?