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Glite Dictionary
octal

octal

1 8.8
Using a number system with eight as its base
  • adjective
  • /ˈɑk.təl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : octal
  • Permissions are usually written down as three-digit octal numbers.

Examples

  • In programming, file permissions are often represented using octal notation.

  • Using octal numbers, the result is 12.

    Blog text (15)

  • That was one step up from octal, but it was still Greek to him.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • "Yeah, in octal code," Rossini answered.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Instantly, it filled with numbers in octal, the system Sharers preferred.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The ATSC decided that cable TV can use hexadecimal (base 16) symbols and that terrestrial broadcast TV will use octal (base 8) symbols.

    Academic text (1999)

  • The octal number system is essential for understanding older computer architectures.

  • When converting binary to octal, each group of three binary digits corresponds to one octal digit.

Compounds

octal digit
  • Specialized
6.7

A single number from 0 to 7 used to write numbers in base eight

octal notation
  • Specialized
8.2

A number system that uses eight digits 0 to 7

octal number system
  • Specialized
7.7

A way to write numbers using eight digits 0 to 7

octal numeration system
  • Specialized
6.8

A way of writing numbers that counts in groups of eight using the digits 0 to 7

Surface Forms

octal positive

Morphology

octal = oct + al

The word is built from the classical form 'oct' meaning 'eight' plus the adjectival suffix '-al', so the base-8 meaning is fairly clear, though it is a technical term rather than an everyday transparent word.

Etymology

The word octal comes from the Latin root octo, which means 'eight' and is in words like octagon and octave. So octal describes a number system 'based on eight', where each digit goes from 0 to 7.