octal

American  

[ok-tl] / ˈɒk tl /

adjective

1. Also of or relating to the number system with base 8, employing the numerals 0 through 7.

2. relating to or encoded in an octal system, especially for use by a digital computer.

3. (of an electronic device) having eight pins in its base for electrical connections.

---

noun

1. octonary.

octal Scientific  

/ ŏk′təl /

1. Relating to a number system having a base of 8. Each place in an octal number represents a power of 8. Octal notation has often been used in computer programming because three-digit binary numbers are readily converted into one-digit octal numbers from 0 to 7.

---

Etymology

Origin of octal

First recorded in 1935–40; oct- + -al ¹

Example Sentences

“You’d punch one number wrong into a card, and you got a bunch of wasted paper … just a bunch of octal numbers that didn’t mean anything.”

From Scientific American • Jul. 12, 2019

The construction `obscure in the extreme' is the    preferred emphatic form. :octal forty: /ok'tl for'tee/ /n./

From The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0, 24 Jul 1996 by Raymond, Eric S.

The contents of octal digits 0-5 of the index register location are unaffected by this instruction.

From Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) October, 1960 by Digital Equipment Corporation

The left half of these registers is available for the storage of constants, tables, etc., when octal digits 7 through 11 act as index registers.

From Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) October, 1960 by Digital Equipment Corporation

The first bit of octal digit 2 is the indirect address bit.

From Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) October, 1960 by Digital Equipment Corporation