quadbit (nibble)

A quadbit, sometimes called a nibble , is one of 16 possible four-bit combinations used in some communication signals. A signal may be encoded in quadbit (nibble) units rather than one bit at a time. According to Harry Newton, nibble interleaving or multiplexing takes a quadbit or nibble from a lower-speed channel as input for a multiplexed signal on a higher-speed channel. In the IEEE 1284 Parallel Port Interface standard, data can be sent in nibbles (a sequence of two four-bit units) across the line.