octal

\ɔk.tal\

/\ɔk.tal\/ adj

The verdict

“octal” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Exprimé dans la base numérique huit (qui utilise les chiffres de 0 à 7) → voir octet.

Corpus desk

Index FR-octal · octal · French

octal · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "O" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for octal
PropertyValue
Headwordoctal
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ɔk.tal\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « octal » en français

octaln'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

octal is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ɔk.tal\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Exprimé dans la base numérique huit (qui utilise les chiffres de 0 à 7) → voir octet.".

Zero misspellings are on record for octal in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is octal, spelled O-C-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exprimé dans la base numérique huit (qui utilise les chiffres de 0 à 7) → voir octet.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how octal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Un chiffre octal permet de représenter trois bits en un seul caractère.
  2. La représentation octale des nombres a longtemps été utilisée lorsque la longueur des mots des ordinateurs était multiple de trois.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "octal"?
"octal" is spelled O-C-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is \ɔk.tal\.
What does "octal" mean?
As an adjective, "octal" means: Exprimé dans la base numérique huit (qui utilise les chiffres de 0 à 7) → voir octet.
How do you pronounce "octal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "octal" is \ɔk.tal\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "octal" come from?
"octal" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list