Obfuscate
Rodney from Charlevoix
shared a word that has a specialized meaning among software writers. It’s
obfuscation, and it means the deliberate attempt to make coding unreadable.
That sounds counterproductive, but Rodney said it’s useful if you are trying to
conceal the purpose of a code, or if you are trying to safeguard your product
against reverse engineering.
The word obfuscation has
a more generalized meaning, but it still revolves around obscuring, concealing,
or confusing an audience. It often involves using words deliberately chosen for
their esoteric nature or using jargon not readily available to the general
public. A popular bumper sticker years ago was Eschew Obfuscation, which compactly and humorously serves as an
illustration.
Originally, in Latin, the
–fusc- sequence meant some dark
color, at different times described as black, dark brown, or muddy gray. (This
reminds me of the murky definition for ecru: greyish-pale
yellow or a light greyish-yellowish brown.)
Over time, the word left the realm
of color and extended to mean ideas or expressions that are vague, obscure,
unclear, perplexing, befuddling, or bewildering.
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