Phrase guide

Merkle tree

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A binary hash tree.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computer, computing, cryptography, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, science, sciences

Examples

  • 2001, Josep Domingo-Ferrer, Mobile Agent Route Protection through Hash-Based Mechanisms, C. Pandu Rangan, Cunsheng Ding (editors), Progress in Cryptology - INDOCRYPT 2001: 2nd International Conference, Proceedings, Volume 2, Springer, LNCS 2247, page 17, The second solution uses Merkle trees and minimizes the cost of route protection by the agent owner, so that a single digital signature suffices to protect the whole route; for hosts along the route, the verification cost is similar to the cost of previous schemes in the literature, namely one digital signature verification per route step.
  • 2004, Michael Szydlo, Merkle Tree Traversal in Log Space and Time, Christian Cachin, Jan Camenisch (editors), Advances in Cryptology - EUROCRYPT 2004: International Conference, Proceedings, Springer, LNCS 3027, page 541, Merkle trees have found many uses in theoretical cryptographic constructions, having been specifically designed so that a leaf value can be verified with respect to a publicly known root value and the authentication data of the leaf.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Named after American computer scientist Ralph Merkle (1952–), who patented it in 1979.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: дърво на Меркел (dǎrvo na Merkel) — binary hash tree
  • Chinese Mandarin: 墨克樹 /墨克树 (mòkèshù) — binary hash tree
  • Chinese Mandarin: 默克爾樹 /默克尔树 (Mòkè'ěr shù) — binary hash tree
  • Finnish: Merkle-puu — binary hash tree
  • French: arbre de Merkle — binary hash tree