hex
n.a magic spell that is meant to bring bad luck or trouble to someone. In computing, it is also a short way to say 'hexadecimal', which is a system for writing numbers using sixteen symbols.
n.a magic spell or curse intended to cause misfortune; in technical contexts, a shortened form of 'hexadecimal' referring to a base-16 numbering system. Often used in informal or supernatural contexts to describe a persistent streak of bad luck.
“She believed a rival had put a hex on her business.”
“The programmer spent hours looking at the raw hex data to find the error in the file's header.”
“Whether viewed as a literal hex cast by a vengeful spirit or merely a series of unfortunate coincidences, the family's sudden decline in fortune became the talk of the village.”
In its supernatural sense, it is often used with the verb 'to put' or 'to cast'. In computing, it is frequently used as a modifier before other nouns like 'code' or 'editor'.
First attested about 1830, from Pennsylvania German hexe (“to practice witchcraft”), from German hexen (compare Hexe (“witch”)). The noun appeared later, in the 1850s. Cognate to Norwegian Bokmål heks (“witch”) and Dutch heks (“witch”), Dutch beheksen (“to bewitch”), Old English hægtesse (“witch, hag”). Doublet of hag.
Short for hexadecimal.
Short for hexagon.
Short for hexafluoride.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.