octal (English)

Where does "octal" come from?

The term 'octal' is a modern scientific construction formed by combining the prefix 'oct-', derived from the Latin 'octo' meaning eight, with the suffix '-al' to denote its relationship to the base-eight numbering system. While 'oct-' relates to this Latin root for the number eight, the word itself was developed to describe a digital counting method that ignores the digits eight and nine.

Full etymology tree

• octal (English), 'The number system that uses the eight digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.'
  • derived oct- (English), 'Form of octa- or octo- used before a vowel.'
    • inherited ὀκτώ (oktṓ) (Ancient Greek), 'eight'
  • 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.'

Direct ancestors

• oct (English)
• al (English)

Updated July 2026

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