Code Comes From the Wooden Tablets of Roman Law
A code is a system of rules or symbols. The Latin word meant a tree trunk, then a book of laws.
A code is a system of laws, rules or symbols. Latin *caudex* meant a tree trunk, then the wooden writing tablets split from one, then a book bound from such leaves — a *codex*. Roman law collections were codices, so *code* came to mean a body of rules, and from rules it moved to any agreed system of symbols. That is why a legal code, a dress code and computer code share a name: all three are agreed sets of rules.
- A system of laws. *The legal code.*
- A system of symbols. *Morse code.*
- Computer instructions. *Write code.*
- A set of standards. *A dress code.*
- Latin — *caudex*, a tree trunk. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | code | A code. |
| Plural | codes | Codes. |
| Verb | code | Coding. |
| Related | codex | A codex. |
| Latin | caudex | A tree trunk. |
- The building code requires it.Rules.
- The message was in code.Cipher.
- She writes code for a living.Computing.
From scroll to codex
- A scroll had to be unrolled to reach any passage
- A codex was bound in leaves and could be opened anywhere
- That made cross-referencing practical for the first time
- Law and scripture adopted the codex early for exactly that reason
- Every book since is a codex in form
Latin *codex*, a book, from *caudex*, a tree trunk or block of wood split into writing tablets.
How does a tree trunk give us code?
Wooden tablets were split from trunks, bound into a codex, and Roman law collections were codices. The book of rules named the rules.
Why did the codex replace the scroll?
Because a bound book can be opened at any page, which made looking things up and cross-referencing practical.