code

pronunciation

How to pronounce code in British English: UK [kəʊd] word uk audio image

How to pronounce code in American English: US [koʊd] word us audio image

Noun:

a set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones)
a coding system used for transmitting messages requiring brevity or secrecy
(computer science) the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer program or the set of such instructions
Verb:

attach a code to
convert ordinary language into code

Word Origin

code: code: [14] ‘System of secret communication signs’ is a relatively recent semantic development of the word code, which emerged in the early 19th century. It derived from an earlier sense ‘system of laws’, which was based on a specific application to various sets of statutes introduced by the Roman emperors. The word itself came from Old French code, a descendant of Latin cōdex, whose meaning ‘set of statutes, book of laws’ derived from a broader sense ‘book’.This in turn came from an earlier ‘piece of wood coated with wax for writing on’, which was based ultimately on ‘tree trunk’, the word’s original meaning. Codex itself was borrowed into English in the 16th century. Its Latin diminutive form, cōdicillus, produced English codicil [15].=> codex, codicil

code (n.): c. 1300, "systematic compilation of laws," from Old French code "system of laws, law-book" (13c.), from Latin codex, earlier caudex "book, book of laws," literally "tree trunk," hence, book made up of wooden tablets covered with wax for writing. Meaning "cipher" (the sense in secret code) is from 1808.

code (v.): 1815, from code (n.). Specifically in the computer sense from 1947. Related: Coded; coding.