endian
end·i·an/ˈɛn.di.ən/adjective
endian is spelled E-N-D-I-A-N: 6 letters and 3 syllables (end·i·an). It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 103,949th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, endian means “Preceded by a qualifying word: of a computer: storing multibyte numbers with the most significant byte at a particular memory address; for example…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in endian?
| Letters | 6: E-N-D-I-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: end·i·an |
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 103,949th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is endian?
Endian appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 103,949th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce endian?
- UK /ˈɛn.dɪ.ən/
- US /ˈɛn.di.ən/
- /ˈɪn.di.ən/
Endian has 3 syllables, split end·i·an in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-endian.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does endian mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Preceded by a qualifying word: of a computer: storing multibyte numbers with the most significant byte at a particular memory address; for example, at the smallest address (big-endian) or the largest address (little-endian).
endian-neutral code
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does endian come from?
From end + -ian (suffix meaning ‘one from, belonging to, like, or relating to’ forming nouns, and meaning ‘from, like, or related to’ forming adjectives), originally in the noun Big-Endian coined by the Anglo-Irish author Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) in his novel Gulliver’s Travels (1726). Swift wrote of an emperor of Lilliput who, after his son cuts his finger when opening an egg at the large end, commands his subjects to open them at the small end; those who rebel by opening their eggs at the large end are called “Big-Endians”.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).