chawmp: n. [University of Florida] 16 or 18 bits (half of a
machine word). This term was used by FORTH hackers during the late
1970s/early 1980s; it is said to have been archaic then, and may now
be obsolete. It was coined in revolt against the promiscuous use of
`word' for anything between 16 and 32 bits; `word' has an additional
special meaning for FORTH hacks that made the overloading
intolerable. For similar reasons, /gaw'bl/ (spelled `gawble' or
possibly `gawbul') was in use as a term for 32 or 48 bits
(presumably a full machine word, but our sources are unclear on
this). These terms are more easily understood if one thinks of them
as faithful phonetic spellings of `chomp' and `gobble' pronounced in
a Florida or other Southern U.S. dialect. For general discussion of
similar terms, see nybble.
![[prev]](../gif/left.gif){kind=small}
![[up]](../gif/up.gif){kind=small}
![[next]](../gif/right.gif){kind=small}