Definition of "big-endian"

big-endian

adjective
not comparable
1. (computing) Storing the most significant byte of a multibyte number at a lower address than the least significant byte; that is, "big end" first.
  Quotations
  Most big Unix machines are big-endian, but Intel x86 machines and older Digital machines are little-endian.
  1999, W. Curtis Preston, Unix Backup and Recovery, O'Reilly Media, page 132
2. (networking) Transmitting the most significant byte of a multibyte number before transmitting the least significant byte; that is, "big end" first.
  Quotations
  The network octet order for all protocols in the TCP/IP protocol suite is big-endian. A big-endian computer system need not perform any conversion in building TCP/IP protocol headers from integers stored in its memory.
  1994, James Martin, Joe Leben, TCP/IP Networking: Architecture, Administration, and Programming, Prentice Hall, page 203