Binary

How to spell binary

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce binary

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does binary mean?

1. adjectiveComposed of or relating to two things, parts, or states.
2. nounThe base-two number system that represents values using only the digits 0 and 1.

Binary in a sentence

• adjective

  The survey forced every answer into a binary choice between yes and no.

• noun

  The programmer converted the decimal value into binary before storing it.

• adjective

  The switch has a binary state: it is either on or off.

• noun

  Every file on the drive is ultimately a long string of binary.

Where does binary come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin binarius, meaning 'consisting of two', which was built on bini, a word that literally meant 'two by two' or 'two at a time' and was used when counting things in pairs. That in turn traces back to bis, the Latin for 'twice', the same element that hides inside words like 'biscuit' (twice-cooked) and 'bicycle' (two wheels). Late Latin writers used binarius for the number two and for things made of two parts, and English picked it up in the early 1600s, at first as a term in mathematics and logic for anything paired or twofold. The modern sense that dominates today, the base-two number system using only the digits 0 and 1, grew out of that mathematical use and became central to computing in the twentieth century. The spelling is steadier than the sound suggests: it is simply 'bin' plus 'ary', and remembering the 'two' meaning behind 'bin' helps anchor the single n.

How the word is built

• bin- (from Latin bini: two by two, in pairs)
• -ary (adjective/noun suffix: relating to)