Nibble, data storage
A nibble (or less commonly, nybble) is the computing term for the aggregation of four bits, or half an octet (an octet being an 8-bit byte). As a nibble contains four bits, there are sixteen (24) possible values, so a nibble corresponds to a single hexadecimal digit (thus, it is often referred to as a "hex digit" or "hexit"). A full byte is represented by two hexadecimal digits; therefore, it is common to display a byte of information as two nibbles. The nibble is often called a "semioctet" or a "quartet" in a networking or telecommunication context. The term "nibble" originates from the fact that the term "byte" is a pun on the English word "bite". A nibble is a small bite, which in this context is humorously construed as "half a bite". The alternative "nybble" spelling parallels the spelling of "byte".