The top bit of an 8-bit character, which is on in character values 128--255.Also called high bit, alt bit, or hobbit.Some terminals and consoles (see {space-cadet keyboard}) have a META shift key.Others (including, *mirabile dictu*, keyboards on IBM PC-class machines) have an ALT key.See also bucky bits.Historical note: although in modern usage shaped by a universe of 8-bit bytes the meta bit is invariably hex 80 (octal 0200), things were different on earlier machines with 36 bit words and 9-bit bytes.The MIT and Stanford keyboards (see space-cadet keyboard) generated hex 100 (octal 400) from their meta keys.[Jargon File]