:swab: /swob/ [From the mnemonic for the PDP-11 `SWAp Byte'
instruction, as immortalized in the `dd(1)' option `conv=swab'
(see {dd})] 1. vt. To solve the {NUXI problem} by swapping
bytes in a file. 2. n. The program in V7 UNIX used to perform this
action, or anything functionally equivalent to it. See also
{big-endian}, {little-endian}, {middle-endian},
{bytesexual}.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
middle-endian adj.
Not big-endian or
little-endian. Used of perverse byte orders such as 3-4-1-2
or 2-1-4-3, occasionally found in the packed-decimal formats of
minicomputer manufacturers who shall remain nameless....