Difference between revisions of "Decipher"
From Nordan Symposia
Jump to navigationJump to searchm (Text replacement - "http://" to "https://") |
|||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
| − | after French ''déchiffrer'' , in 15th cent. ''deschiffrer'' , des- , de- (de- prefix 1f) + chiffre [ | + | after French ''déchiffrer'' , in 15th cent. ''deschiffrer'' , des- , de- (de- prefix 1f) + chiffre [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipher cipher]. |
| − | *[ | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1545] |
==Defiinitions== | ==Defiinitions== | ||
*1: decode | *1: decode | ||
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
'''Decipherment''' is the [[analysis]] of [[documents]] written in ancient languages, where the language is [[unknown]], or [[knowledge]] of the language has been lost. | '''Decipherment''' is the [[analysis]] of [[documents]] written in ancient languages, where the language is [[unknown]], or [[knowledge]] of the language has been lost. | ||
| − | It is closely related to [ | + | It is closely related to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptanalysis cryptanalysis] — the [[difference]] being that the [[original]] document was not deliberately written to be [[difficult]] to decipher. |
The term has also been used to describe the [[analysis]] of the genetic [[information]] encoded in [[DNA]] - see the [[Human Genome Project]] article for more on this. | The term has also been used to describe the [[analysis]] of the genetic [[information]] encoded in [[DNA]] - see the [[Human Genome Project]] article for more on this. | ||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
Examples of successful script decipherment: | Examples of successful script decipherment: | ||
| − | *[ | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_script Cuneiform script] |
| − | *[ | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_hieroglyphs Egyptian hieroglyphs] |
| − | *[ | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharoshthi Kharoshthi script] |
| − | *[ | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_B Linear B] |
[[Category: Languages and Literature]] | [[Category: Languages and Literature]] | ||
Latest revision as of 23:45, 12 December 2020
Origin
after French déchiffrer , in 15th cent. deschiffrer , des- , de- (de- prefix 1f) + chiffre cipher.
Defiinitions
Description
Decipherment is the analysis of documents written in ancient languages, where the language is unknown, or knowledge of the language has been lost.
It is closely related to cryptanalysis — the difference being that the original document was not deliberately written to be difficult to decipher.
The term has also been used to describe the analysis of the genetic information encoded in DNA - see the Human Genome Project article for more on this.
Some people have also used the word metaphorically to mean something like 'understanding'.
Examples of successful script decipherment:
