From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Cryptography \Cryp*tog"ra*phy\ (-f?), noun [Cf. F. cryptographie.]
1. The act or art of writing in code or secret characters; also, secret characters, codes or ciphers, or messages written in a secret code. [1913 Webster +PJC]
2. the science which studies methods for encoding messages so that they can be read only by a person who knows the secret information required for decoding, called the key; it includes {cryptanalysis}, the science of decoding encrypted messages without possessing the proper key. [PJC]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: the science of analyzing and deciphering codes and ciphers and cryptograms [syn: {cryptanalysis}, {cryptanalytics}, {cryptology}]
2: act of writing in code or cipher [syn: {coding}, {secret writing}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
48 Moby Thesaurus words for "cryptography": cipher, code, coded message, coup de plume, criticism, cryptanalysis, cryptoanalysis, cryptoanalytics, cryptogram, cryptograph, cryptographer, cryptology, diagnostics, engrossment, epigraphy, exegetics, hermeneutics, ink spilling, inkslinging, inscription, invisible ink, lettering, lexicography, literary criticism, macrography, metoposcopy, micrography, oneirology, paleography, pathognomy, pen, pen-and-ink, pencil driving, physiognomics, physiognomy, scrivenery, scrivening, secret language, secret writing, semeiology, semeiotics, sympathetic ink, symptomatology, textual criticism, tropology, typewriting, typing, writing
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
cryptography The practise and study of {encryption} and {decryption} - encoding data so that it can only be decoded by specific individuals. A system for encrypting and decrypting data is a cryptosystem. These usually involve an {algorithm} for combining the original data ("{plaintext}") with one or more "keys" - numbers or strings of characters known only to the sender and/or recipient. The resulting output is known as "{ciphertext}". The security of a cryptosystem usually depends on the secrecy of (some of) the keys rather than with the supposed secrecy of the {algorithm}. A strong cryptosystem has a large range of possible keys so that it is not possible to just try all possible keys (a "{brute force}" approach). A strong cryptosystem will produce ciphertext which appears random to all standard statistical tests. A strong cryptosystem will resist all known previous methods for breaking codes ("{cryptanalysis}"). See also {cryptology}, {public-key encryption}, {RSA}. {Usenet} newsgroups: {news:sci.crypt}, {news:sci.crypt.research}. {FAQ} {MIT (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/cryptography-faq/)}. {Cryptography glossary (http://www.io.com/~ritter/GLOSSARY.HTM#BruteForceAttack)}. {RSA cryptography glossary (http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/glossary.html)}. {Cryptography, PGP, and Your Privacy (http://draco.centerline.com:8080/~franl/crypto.html)}. (2000-01-16)
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