data /nib'l/ (US "nybble", by analogy with "bite" -@# "byte")
Half a
byte. Since a byte is nearly always eight
bits, a
nibble is nearly always four bits (and can therefore be
represented by one
hex digit).
Other size nibbles have existed, for example the
BBCMicrocomputer disk file system used eleven bit sector numbers
which were described as one byte (eight bits) and a nibble
(three bits).
British orthography suggests the pronunciation /ni:'bl/.
(1997-12-03)