Nibble
<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
BBC Microcomputer disk file system used eleven bit sector numbers which were described as one byte (eight bits) and a nibble (three bits).
Compare
crumb,
tayste,
dynner; see also
bit,
nickle,
deckle.
The spelling "nybble" is uncommon in
Commonwealth Hackish as British orthography suggests the pronunciation /ni:'bl/.
