Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An evil spell; a curse.
  • noun One that brings bad luck.
  • transitive verb To put a hex on.
  • transitive verb To bring or wish bad luck to.
  • adjective Hexagonal. Used of hardware, such as bolts and screws, with hexagonal heads or hexagonal sockets.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun computing, informal Short for hexadecimal.
  • verb To put a hex (a spell, especially an evil spell) on.
  • noun An evil spell or curse.
  • noun A witch.
  • noun rare A spell (now rare but still found in compounds such as hex sign and hexcraft).

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Pennsylvania Dutch, from German hexen, to hex, from Hexe, witch, from Middle High German hecse, from Old High German hagzissa.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Short for hexadecimal.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First attested about 1830, from Pennsylvania German hexe ("to practice witchcraft"), from German hexen (compare Hexe ("witch")). The noun appeared later, in the 1850s.

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Examples

  • David Ashley's glowering sorcerer, Abanazer, supplies what someone calls the hex factor.

    Culture | guardian.co.uk 2009

  • John on Jun 20, 2008 no idea who/what jonah hex is but have to go with fillion on this one, hes badass and a great actor, thomas jane is not now wheres my serenity sequel harrison on Jun 20, 2008

    So That Truly Was Thomas Jane as Jonah Hex! « FirstShowing.net 2008

  • Snyder after a win over Dallas, witnessed for himself how powerful the Cowboys 'hex is over the Redskins.

    NFL - National Football League - Washington vs. Dallas 2002

  • Already a decades-old product in America, these dirt-scoopers, which weigh in at 38 tons, haven't made much headway in China, which still relies on the smaller "hex" -- industry jargon for hydraulic excavator -- and trucks on most construction sites.

    In China, Add a Caterpillar 2007

  • : its only a hex if you call a hex jack: P I hope to start readjusting my sleep schedule .. would be l ...

    The Offside 2010

  • I’m not a— I couldn’t think of a word for hex just then in Lambaneish.

    Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009

  • I’m not a— I couldn’t think of a word for hex just then in Lambaneish.

    Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009

  • I’m not a— I couldn’t think of a word for hex just then in Lambaneish.

    Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009

  • But Warner knows that Mexico not making the hex is a big hit to the wallet of CONCACAF.

    Archive 2009-10-01 Matt Johnston 2009

  • They briefly mention the possibility of a watch that displays the seconds since Unix epoch, which is what I really want, especially if it can do so in hex.

    Boing Boing: May 21, 2006 - May 27, 2006 Archives 2006

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