'decode' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'decodere,' where 'de-' meant 'reverse' and 'codere' meant 'to arrange or write.'

'decodere' transformed into the French word 'décoder,' and eventually became the modern English word 'decode' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'to reverse the arrangement of a code,' and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.