kibi

Kibi is a term with multiple meanings across different domains and languages.

In computing, kibibyte, abbreviated KiB, is a binary unit of data equal to 2^10 bytes, or 1024 bytes. It was introduced by the International Electrotechnical Commission as part of the IEC prefixes in 1998 to reduce confusion with the decimal kilobyte, which is defined as 1000 bytes. The term kibi sits alongside other binary prefixes such as mebibyte (MiB) and gibibyte (GiB). In practice, some contexts still use kilobyte to refer to both 1000 and 1024 bytes, but KiB provides a precise distinction for memory sizes and data transfer calculations.

In historical geography of Japan, Kibi refers to an ancient province, 吉備国 (Kibi no kuni), located in the central part of western Honshu. The province roughly corresponds to parts of present-day Okayama Prefecture and surrounding areas. The name survives in regional toponyms and archaeological sites associated with the Kibi region, which features in studies of early Japanese state formation and culture. The region is also linked in historical and literary contexts to various figures and religious centers connected to its geography.

There are other contemporary uses of the term in place names and personal names in different languages, but the two primary senses are the binary-data prefix used in computing and the historic Japanese province.