octal (English)

Where does "octal" come from?

The English noun 'octal' is formed from the combination of 'oct-' and the suffix '-al'[1].

Open questions

• The exact derivation and relationship of the components are based on limited morphological combination data. [1]

Full etymology tree

• octal (English), 'The number system that uses the eight digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.'
  • prefix oct- (English), 'Form of octa- or octo- used before a vowel.'
  • suffix -al (English), 'Of or pertaining to. Adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to produce an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also.'

Ancestors

• oct (English)
• al (English)

Sources

1. octal (English) - Wiktionary
2. al (English) - Wiktionary
3. oct (English) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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