Endian meaning
A suffix that indicates the ordering of bytes in a multi-byte number. The term “big-endian” means putting the most significant byte first. The term “little-endian” means putting the least significant byte first.
Origin of endian
- end +"Ž -ian; from a passage in Gulliver's Travels in which an emperor, after cutting his finger after opening an egg at the large end, commands his subjects to open them at the small end; those who comply are called “Little-Endians", while those who rebel by opening their eggs at the large end are called “Big-Endians."
From Wiktionary