hexadecimal

hex·a·dec·i·mal

H0180850 (hĕk′sə-dĕs′ə-məl)adj.1. Of, relating to, or based on the number 16: the hexadecimal number system.2. Of or relating to sixteenths.n.1. A number system having 16 as its base.2. A sixteenth.

hexadecimal

(ˌhɛksəˈdɛsɪməl) adj (Computer Science) relating to or using a number system whose base is 16 rather than 10n (Computer Science) a number system having a base 16; the symbols for the numbers 0–9 are the same as those used in the decimal system, and the numbers 10–15 are usually represented by the letters A–F. The system is used as a convenient way of representing the internal binary code of a computer

hex•a•dec•i•mal

(ˌhɛk səˈdɛs ə məl)

adj. 1. of or pertaining to a numbering system that uses 16 as the radix and that represents digits greater than 9 with the letters A through F. 2. relating to or encoded in such a system, esp. for use by computers. [1955–60]

Thesaurus

Adj.

hexadecimal - of or pertaining to a number system having 16 as its basehex

Translations

hexadecimal

hexadecimal notation

, hexadecimal a number system having a base 16; the symbols for the numbers 0--9 are the same as those used in the decimal system, and the numbers 10--15 are usually represented by the letters A--F. The system is used as a convenient way of representing the internal binary code of a computer

hexadecimal

[‚hek·sə′des·məl] (mathematics) Pertaining to a number system using the base 16. Also known as sexadecimal.

hexadecimal

(mathematics)(Or "hex") Base 16. A number representationusing the digits 0-9, with their usual meaning, plus theletters A-F (or a-f) to represent hexadecimal digits withvalues of (decimal) 10 to 15. The right-most digit countsones, the next counts multiples of 16, then 16^2 = 256, etc.

For example, hexadecimal BEAD is decimal 48813:

digit weight valueB = 11 16^3 = 4096 11*4096 = 45056E = 14 16^2 = 256 14* 256 = 3584A = 10 16^1 = 16 10* 16 = 160D = 13 16^0 = 1 13* 1 = 13-----BEAD = 48813

There are many conventions for distinguishing hexadecimalnumbers from decimal or other bases in programs. In C forexample, the prefix "0x" is used, e.g. 0x694A11.

Hexadecimal is more succinct than binary for representingbit-masks, machines addresses, and other low-level constantsbut it is still reasonably easy to split a hex number intodifferent bit positions, e.g. the top 16 bits of a 32-bit wordare the first four hex digits.

The term was coined in the early 1960s to replace earlier"sexadecimal", which was too racy and amusing for stuffyIBM, and later adopted by the rest of the industry.

Actually, neither term is etymologically pure. If we take"binary" to be paradigmatic, the most etymologically correctterm for base ten, for example, is "denary", which comes from"deni" (ten at a time, ten each), a Latin "distributive"number; the corresponding term for base sixteen would besomething like "sendenary". "Decimal" is from an ordinalnumber; the corresponding prefix for six would imply somethinglike "sextidecimal". The "sexa-" prefix is Latin butincorrect in this context, and "hexa-" is Greek. The wordoctal is similarly incorrect; a correct form would be"octaval" (to go with decimal), or "octonary" (to go withbinary). If anyone ever implements a base three computer,computer scientists will be faced with the unprecedenteddilemma of a choice between two *correct* forms; both"ternary" and "trinary" have a claim to this throne.

hexadecimal

hex·a·dec·i·mal

hexadecimal

hex•a•dec•i•mal

hexadecimal

hexadecimal notation

hexadecimal

hexadecimal

hexadecimal

hexadecimal

hexadecimal

Synonyms for hexadecimal

adj of or pertaining to a number system having 16 as its base

Synonyms