Decryptors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device or software used to convert coded information back into its original form
2. Individuals or systems skilled in decoding encrypted messages for interpretation
3. Tools employed to reverse encryption processes, making data readable again

Etymology: "Decryptors" is the plural of "decryptor," a noun built from the verb "decrypt" plus the suffix "-or," which marks a person or thing that performs an action. A decryptor, then, is whatever does the decrypting: a machine, a program, or the person who does the work of reversing a cipher. The verb "decrypt" is itself a formation on "encrypt," with the reversing prefix "de-" attached to it, so the pair describes an action and its undoing. The "-or" ending is the same one found in older agent nouns such as "editor" and "operator," which is why the word sounds like a piece of ordinary machinery rather than a term of cryptography.

Synonyms: decoders, decipherers, interpreters, analysts, codebreakers