Hypertext Webster Gateway: "cryptic"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Cryptic \Cryp"tic\ (kr[i^]p"t[i^]k), Cryptical \Cryp"tic*al\
(-t?-kal), a. [L. crypticus, Gr. kryptiko`s, fr. kry`ptein to
hide.]
Hidden; secret; occult. ``Her [nature's] more cryptic ways of
working.'' --Glanvill.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
cryptic
adj 1: of an obscure nature; "the new insurance policy is written
without cryptic or mysterious terms"; "a deep dark
secret"; "the inscrutible workings of Providence"; "in
its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins
of life"- Rachel Carson; "rituals totally mystifying
to visitors from other lands" [syn: {cryptical}, {deep},
{inscrutable}, {mysterious}, {mystifying}]
2: having a secret or hidden meaning; "cabalistic symbols
engraved in stone"; "cryptic writings"; "thoroughly
sibylline in most of his pronouncements"- John Gunther
[syn: {cabalistic}, {cryptical}, {sibylline}]
3: having a puzzling terseness; "a cryptic note"
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.