binary (English)

Where does "binary" come from?

The word 'binary' traces its origins back to the Proto-Indo-European root *dwóh₁, meaning 'two.' It evolved through Latin into 'bīnus,' meaning 'two each,' and eventually 'bīnārius,' a Late Latin term for anything consisting of two parts. Over time, this evolved into the modern English term, which now describes everything from base-two mathematical systems to dual pairings in astronomy.

Full etymology tree

• binary (English), 'A state in which only two values are possible, in which something must have one value or the other.'
  • inherited bīnārius (Latin), 'Containing or consisting of two things, dual'
    • inherited bīnārius (Latin), 'Containing or consisting of two things, dual'
      • derived bīnī (Latin), 'inflection of bīnus:'
        • inherited *dwiznos (Proto-Italic)
          • derived bis (Proto-Italic)
            • inherited *dwís (Proto-Indo-European), 'twice, doubly'
              • derived *dwóh₁ (Proto-Indo-European), 'two'
          • affix -nus (Proto-Italic)
      • affix -ārius (Latin), 'Used to form adjectives from nouns or numerals.'

Direct ancestors

• binarius (Latin)
• bini (Latin)
• bin- (English)
• -ary (English)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris