Is a cryptographer a κ?υπτογ?άφοσ?

[JustinT]

Good evenin', folks.

I'm a cryptographer from Asheville, North Carolina, and I've long held an interest in the etymology of the word, "cryptography." In particular, I'm curious about the Greek translation of the English "cryptographer." After a quick Googling, I'm told that it's "κ?υπτογ?άφοσ," which I would like to confirm.

Also, any further information about the etymology of the word, variations of the word in other forms of Greek, both ancient and modern, and a phonetic breakdown, would be much appreciated. In fact, any resources regarding Greek cryptography would be great!

Kind regards,

Justin

[ThomasGR]

This is my little help. Κ?υπτογ?άφος is literary word of modern use. It's a combination of "krypton = hidden" and "grafein=to write". More on the science of cryptology in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography.

[JustinT]

Cheers, Thomas. Thanks for your addition. I was previously aware of the word itself, along with the two root words it's composed of, but wanted to confirm its accuracy. If it is indeed the "right way" to write "cryptographer" in Greek, then I would be quite interested in a phonetic breakdown, to ensure that I'm pronouncing it properly. Once again, I appreciate your reply!

As cryptography has been both my career and passion, for quite some time, so is its Greek history equally intriguing to me.

[ThomasGR]

It was correct written, with a minor error. Words ending in "s", "ς" is used instead of "σ".

ο Κ?υπτογ?άφος

The pronunciation is:

ο kriptogr'afos
'a is stressed.
(though many classicists are ready to jump and quarrel about upsilon. They will argue one should speak it as the German "y" or the Latin transliteration "u". Since there is no consensus, and it is a modern word, I prefer the modern pronunciation. The same goes for "φ", I prefer a "f" instead of a "p" with a strong aspiration "h".)

the syllables:

Κ?υ-πτο-γ?ά-φος
kri-pto-gra-fos

Κ?υπτογ?άφος can also be the tool, not only the person. To prevent a confusion, one should use "κυπτογ?αφική μηχανή", "κυπτογ?αφικόν ε?γαλείον" (machine, tool to make a cryptography) for the machine or tool, and use "Κ?υπτογ?άφος" only for the person.