# Nomenclator · Concept

> A cipher that pairs a substitution alphabet with a list of code groups for whole words and names.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECVZZ6JH82/nomenclator  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Concepts](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts)Nomenclator

Concept · cryptography · in 2 mysteries

# Nomenclator

A cipher that pairs a substitution alphabet with a list of code groups for whole words and names.

[Voynich Manuscript](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/voynich-manuscript)

The working cipher of European chanceries from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century: a substitution alphabet for spelling things out, plus a list of code groups standing for whole words, names and syllables, and often nulls that mean nothing. The Copiale cipher is one; several readings of the Voynich Manuscript assume one. The list part is what makes a nomenclator hard to break from the text alone.

## Where it comes up

**[Voynich Manuscript](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/voynich-manuscript)**

The text is Latin or a vernacular enciphered by a table-driven procedure (verbose, homophonic, mixed or nomenclator).

[A cipher of a known language](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/voynich-manuscript/answers/ANS0D8GDZVR7VJZ/a-cipher-of-a-known-language)[Latin or a vernacular under a table cipher](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/voynich-manuscript/answers/ANS0D8G04G82R7C/latin-or-a-vernacular-under-a-table-cipher)[Latin or Italian under a chancery mixed key](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/voynich-manuscript/answers/ANS0D8FZZM071JE/latin-or-italian-under-a-chancery-mixed-key)[A calibrated posterior over period-cipher settings pins down spacing and the line layer, not the key's size](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/voynich-manuscript/evidence/EVD0DCHSNX5R3VX/a-calibrated-posterior-over-period-cipher-settings-pins-down)

## Methods that use it 1

[Fifteenth-century cipher practices as one fitted family, per section](https://mysteriesdept.com/methods/MTH0DCB5D15DB6M/fifteenth-century-cipher-practices-as-one-fitted-family-per)

MTH

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Nomenclator [Concept CPT0DECVZZ6JH82]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DECVZZ6JH82
```

Key

**CPT** 0DECVZZ6JH82

Record

Concept

Field

Cryptography

Related

[Homophonic substitution](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECVZY0W38A/homophonic-substitution) · [Frequency analysis](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECVZZJW77N/frequency-analysis)

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Related concepts

[Homophonic substitution](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECVZY0W38A/homophonic-substitution)[Frequency analysis](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECVZZJW77N/frequency-analysis)

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