Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

x87

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.39 in modern English

Syllables
x87
IPA
8
Scrabble Score
1
Letters
1
Syllables
1
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

An extension to the x86 CPU instruction set architecture, providing direct hardware support for advanced floating-point arithmetic operations (rather than requiring them to be emulated in software).

Etymology

Named after the product designations of the coprocessors used to provide floating-point support on early x86 systems lacking hardware support for these instructions in the main processor: the 8087 (for the 8086/8088 CPU), 80287 (for the 80286 CPU), 80387 (for the 80386 CPU), and 80487SX (for the 80486SX CPU). The 80486DX CPU and later integrated the floating-point hardware into the main processor, but the name continued in use for this set of instructions. The x serves as a wildcard.

Frequently Paired Words

MMX 3DNow! SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 SSE4

Questions

What does x87 mean?
An extension to the x86 CPU instruction set architecture, providing direct hardware support for advanced floating-point arithmetic operations (rather than requiring them to be emulated in software).
Where does x87 come from?
Named after the product designations of the coprocessors used to provide floating-point support on early x86 systems lacking hardware support for these instructions in the main processor: the 8087 (for the 8086/8088 CPU), 80287 (for the 80286 CPU), 80387 (for the 80386 CPU), and 80487SX (for the 80486SX CPU). The 80486DX CPU and later integrated the floating-point hardware into the main processor, but the name continued in use for this set of instructions. The x serves as a wildcard.

How to pronounce x87

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “x87”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “x87”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “x87” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.