code
UK[kəʊd]US[koʊd]
n
A system of words, letters, or signs used to represent a message in secret form, or a system of numbers, letters, or signals used to represent something in a shorter or more convenient form.
n
A set of instructions for a computer.
n
A set of laws or rules that people are expected to follow.
Etymology
The word 'code' entered English in the 14th century from the Old French 'code', meaning a "system of laws". This, in turn, was derived from the Latin 'cōdex' (genitive 'cōdicis'), which originally referred to a "tree trunk, wooden tablet, or book". The Latin term likely has its origins in the Proto-Indo-European root kaud- or keud-, meaning "to beat" or "to strike", relating to the process of making wooden writing tablets. The semantic journey from a physical "wooden book" containing laws to an abstract "system of symbols or rules" for communication and computing illustrates a classic shift from the concrete to the conceptual.
Analysis
The word 'code' is a simplex loanword from Latin. It does not contain separable morphemes in its modern English spelling.
Examples
The spies communicated using a complex numeric code.
She is learning to write code in Python.
All members of the profession must adhere to a strict ethical code.