In order to discover the meaning of the term cryptogram, it is necessary, first of all, to know its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it derives from Greek. Exactly it is the result of the sum of three clearly defined elements such as these:
-The word “kryptos”, which is synonymous with “hide”.
-The verb “graphein”, which can be translated as “write”.
-The suffix “-ma”, which is used to indicate “result of the action”.
In this way, the literal meaning of cryptogram would be “secret message.”
A message that was written using some type of key is called a cryptogram .
Cryptograms are encrypted messages that can only be understood by those who manage to decipher the key in question. One of the most common and simplest methods to create a cryptogram is the so-called substitution cipher , which consists of replacing each letter with another or a number.
Specifically, it is considered that it was in the Middle Ages that there is evidence that, for the first time, the cryptogram was used. At that time, apparently, it was some monks who gave it shape.
A message can be encrypted by changing each letter of the words used to the next one in the alphabet . In this way, the phrase “I am already far away” can be converted into the cryptogram “Zb ftupz mfkpt” . To understand the cryptogram, we must discover how this substitution cipher works:
Y = Z
A = B
E = F
S = T
T = U
O=P
Y = Z
L=M
E = F
J = K
O=P
S = T
With the same type of encryption , other cryptograms can be created, such as “Uf mmbnp mvfhp” ( “I'll call you later” ) or “Tpz Kvbo” ( “I'm Juan” ).
Another possibility is to replace the letter with a number equivalent to its position in the classical Latin alphabet. Thus, the word “Hello” becomes the cryptogram 8-15-12-1 ( “hello” ), while the term “Happy” can be written as the cryptogram 6-5-12-9-23 ( “happy”). ).
Initially, cryptograms were created to protect secret messages (at a military level, for example). Over time they became hobbies that offer entertainment by inviting you to discover their key.
Over the years, cryptograms have become popular through different relevant characters and figures. Thus, for example, the writer Edgar Allan Poe became fond of them and chose to make them popular in society through his different works. A good example of this is that a well-known cryptogram appears today in his famous story “The Golden Beetle,” which was published in 1843.
Likewise, there are other novels where we can also find those secret messages or cryptograms and which have become very relevant and famous. We are referring to books such as, for example, “The Da Vinci Code” (2003), written by Dan Brown, or “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (1864), which was written by Jules Verne.