noun

1. a body of laws, as of a nation or city, organized for easy reference
2. any set of principles or rules of conduct a moral code
3. 1. a set of signals representing letters or numerals, used to send messages, as by telegraph or flags
   2. genetic code
4. 1. a system of symbols used as in secret writing or information processing, in which letters, figures, etc. are arbitrarily given certain meanings
   2. the symbols in such a system
5. a binary system for converting information, data, etc. into a form for use in computers, telecommunications, etc.

Etymology: OFr < L codex (earlier caudex), wooden tablet for writing (hence, book: in LL(Ec), code of laws), orig., tree trunk, wood split into tablets, prob. < cudere, *caudere, to strike < IE base *kāu- > hew

transitive verb coded cod′ed, coding cod′·ing

1. to put in the form or symbols of a code
2. to put in a binary form, as for computer use