code
code definition
code (kōd)
noun
- a body of laws, as of a nation or city, organized for easy reference
- any set of principles or rules of conduct a moral code
- a set of signals representing letters or numerals, used to send messages, as by telegraph or flags
- genetic code
- a system of symbols used as in secret writing or information processing, in which letters, figures, etc. are arbitrarily given certain meanings
- the symbols in such a system
- 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
Related Forms:
- coder cod′er noun
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