Ciphonies

/sɪˈfoʊniz/ noun

Definition

Plural of ciphony: an early system for encrypting telephone conversations to keep them secret and secure.

Etymology

Blend of 'cipher' and 'telephone' or 'phony' (from Greek 'phone,' sound). Coined in the mid-20th century for military cryptographic telephone systems.

Kelly Says

Before secure texting, the military invented 'ciphony' machines to scramble phone calls in real-time—soldiers could hear garbled nonsense unless they had the matching decryption device, making spying on conversations almost impossible!

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