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''hex'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''hex'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260605232103-00-⌔

hex - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Verb

hex (third-person singular simple present hexes, present participle hexing, simple past and past participle hexed)

  • (transitive) To cast a spell on (specifically an evil spell), to bewitch.
    • ✤ Synonyms: bespell, jinx, spellbind; see also Thesaurus: enchant

Noun

hex (plural hexes)

  • An evil spell or curse.
    • ✤ Synonyms: jinx, malediction
  • A witch.
    • ✤ Synonyms: enchantress, sorceress, wizardess
    • ✤ Hypernyms: spellcaster, thaumaturge; see also Thesaurus: magician
  • (rare) A spell (now rare but still found in compounds such as hex sign and hexcraft).
    • ✤ Synonyms: enchantment, incantation, spell; see also Thesaurus: magic spell

Noun

hex (uncountable)

  • (computing, informal) Clipping of hexadecimal.

Noun

hex (plural hexes)

  • A hexagonal space on a game board.
  • (climbing) a hexagon-shaped item of rock climbing equipment intended to be wedged into a crack or other opening in the rock.

Noun

hex (plural hexes)

  • (chemistry) Clipping of uranium hexafluoride.

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhɛks/, [ˈhɛks]
    • Audio (Southern England): 🔊
  • Rhymes: -ɛks
  • Hyphenation: hex

Etymology 1

First attested about 1830, from Pennsylvania German hexe (“to practice witchcraft”), from German hexen (compare Hexe (“witch”)).1 The noun appeared later, in the 1850s.2 Cognate to Norwegian Bokmål heks (“witch”) and Dutch heks (“witch”), Dutch beheksen (“to bewitch”), Old English hægtesse (“witch, hag”). Doublet of hag.

Etymology 2

Short for hexadecimal.

Etymology 3

Short for hexagon.

Etymology 4

Short for hexafluoride.

Printed 2026-06-28.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

  1. “hex”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. ↩

  2. “hex”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present. ↩

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Secondary

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