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Hex

- 10 dictionary results

hex

1  [heks]
Use Hex in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to bewitch; practice witchcraft on: He was accused of hexing his neighbors' cows because they suddenly stopped giving milk.
–noun
2. spell; charm: With all this rain, somebody must have put a hex on our picnic.
3. a witch.
Origin:
1820–30; < G Hexe witch; see hag 1

Related forms:
hexer, noun

hex

2  [heks]
–adjective Informal.
1. hexagonal: a bolt with a matching washer and hex nut.
2. hexadecimal (def. 1).
Origin:
1920–25; by shortening

hex.

 
1. hexagon
2. hexagonal.

hexa-

 
a combining form meaning “six,” used in the formation of compound words: hexapartite.
Also, especially before a vowel, hex-.

Origin:
comb. form repr. Gk héx six

hex⋅a⋅dec⋅i⋅mal

  [hek-suh-des-uh-muhl]
–adjective Computers, Mathematics.
1. Also, hex. of or pertaining to a numbering system that uses 16 as the radix, employing the numerals 0 through 9 and representing digits greater than 9 with the letters A through F.
2. relating to or encoded in a hexadecimal system, esp. for use by a digital computer.
Origin:
1955–60; hexa- + decimal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Hex
hex 1   (hěks)   
n.  
  1. An evil spell; a curse.
  2. One that brings bad luck.
tr.v.   hexed, hex·ing, hex·es
  1. To put a hex on.
  2. To bring or wish bad luck to: "Chilly evening weather and a chain of minor snafus seemed to hex the $5,000-a-seat gala on Governors Island" (Newsweek).

[Pennsylvania Dutch, from German hexen, to hex, from Hexe, witch, from Middle High German hecse, from Old High German hagzissa.]
hex'er n.
Word History: The word hex is a good example of the sort of borrowing from other languages that occurred in the English-speaking former colonies of Great Britain. German and Swiss immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania in the late 17th and 18th centuries spoke a dialect of German known as Pennsylvania Dutch. In this dialect hexe was the equivalent of the German verb hexen, "to practice sorcery." The English verb hex, first recorded in the sense "to practice witchcraft" in an 1830 work called Annals of Philadelphia, is borrowed from Pennsylvania Dutch, as is the noun.
hex 2   (hěks)   
adj.  Hexagonal. Used of hardware.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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hex

n.
1. Short for hexadecimal, base 16.
2. A 6-pack of anything (compare quad, sense 2). Neither usage has anything to do with magic or black art, though the pun is appreciated and occasionally used by hackers. True story: As a joke, some hackers once offered some surplus ICs for sale to be worn as protective amulets against hostile magic. The chips were, of course, hex inverters.
Jargon File 4.2.0
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hex  (v.)
1830, from Pennsylvania Ger. hexe "to practice witchcraft," from Ger. hexen "to hex," related to Hexe "witch," from M.H.G. hecse, hexse, from O.H.G. hagazussa (see hag). Noun meaning "magic spell" is first recorded 1909.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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hex
1. hexadecimal.
2. A 6-pack of anything (compare quad). Neither usage has anything to do with magic or black art, though the pun is appreciated and occasionally used by hackers. True story: As a joke, some hackers once offered some surplus ICs for sale to be worn as protective amulets against hostile magic. The chips were, of course, hex inverters.
3. The hash character, used to introduce hexadecimal constants in some assembly languages.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-03-06)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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