Hexa

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A number system based on sixteen distinct symbols, using digits 0-9 and letters A-F to represent values; a prefix denoting six units or parts; a shorthand term for a hexagon, a six-sided polygon
2. Sixteen-unit numbering system employing numerals and letters to express values; a compound element meaning six; a nickname for a shape with six straight sides and angles
3. A numerical base that counts in sixteen increments with specific character representation; a linguistic element indicating the quantity six; an informal label for a geometric figure having six edges and vertices

Etymology: Hexa is a short form of "hexadecimal", and the story is mostly one of a compromise. The "hexa-" part is from Greek "hex", meaning six, which is also why a hexagon has six sides. The "-decimal" part comes from Latin "decimus", meaning tenth, through the Latin "decem" for ten. Joined together, "hexadecimal" literally means "sixteen" in a way that points to six and ten, a clue to how it was built: the system counts in sixteens by using ten digits and six extra letters. The hybrid name was coined in the 1950s, when early computing needed a way to describe base-16 numbers. Writers combined Greek and Latin roots, a pattern common in scientific coinages, and the shorter "hexa" emerged as informal shorthand. Earlier computing papers often used "sexadecimal", from Latin "sex" for six, but "hexadecimal" won out in the mid-twentieth century, partly because it matched the Greek prefix used in words like hexagon. Hexa is therefore a truncation of a modern technical term, not an ancient word.

Synonyms: hexagon, hexadecimal, six, hexamer, hexapod