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If "hexa-" is a prefix representing six

English Language & Usage Asked by RyanScottLewis on August 4, 2021

Why does the word “hexadecimal” have the prefix “hexa-” if it has a base of 16, not 6?

4 Answers

Hexa- is the Greek prefix for the number six, from hex, "six"; cf. hexagon, hexameter, hexad, etc.

Decimus is the Latin ordinal number "tenth"; cf. decimate, decimal.

This hybrid construction hexadecimal is strange but often seen in English to mean "sixteenth" or "pertaining to sixteen". It does not exist in either Latin or Greek, of course.

In Latin, it would be sedecimus, "sixteenth", leading to English sedecimal.

In Greek, in would be hekkaidekatos, "sixteenth", possibly leading to English heccaedecatic; but derivations of such polysyllabic Greek numbers are rarely used in English. The prefix would be heccaedeca-, as in a heccaedeca(h)edron, a polyhedron with sixteen surfaces.

Correct answer by Cerberus_Reinstate_Monica on August 4, 2021

If decimal is "ten-ly", hexadecimal is "six-ten-ly", or "sixteenly".

Answered by Tao on August 4, 2021

The prefix “hexa-” originally means six, it's “hexadecim-” that means sixteen. (Latin and greek had constructions similar to English for numbers between 13 and 19.) In computer-related usage, base 16 is very common, so the prefix for 16 has come to be systematically abbreviated “hex-” or “hexa-”. Since base 6 is never used, there's no ambiguity.

Answered by Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' on August 4, 2021

Because "sexadecimal" would be considered too rude for IBM in the 50s.

Knuth says that it should be "senidenary." (The art of computer programming vol. 2 Seminumerical Algorithms p200.)

Answered by mgb on August 4, 2021

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