GNU.
The Free Software Foundation's project to develop a free UNIX-like operating system, including the legal framework, such as the source code and documentation licenses.
Meaning & usage
The Free Software Foundation's project to develop a free UNIX-like operating system, including the legal framework, such as the source code and documentation licenses.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree ▲ English GNU Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Germanic *ne Proto-West Germanic *ne Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- Proto-Indo-European *-u Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu Proto-Indo-European *-osinflu. Proto-Germanic *aiwaz Proto-West Germanic *aiw univ. Proto-West Germanic *naiw Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *wékʷtisder.? Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰtisder.? Proto-Germanic *wihtą Proto-West Germanic *wiht Proto-West Germanic *naiwwiht Old English nāwiht Old English *nōht Middle English nought Middle English not English not Proto-Indo-European *mel-der. Proto-Indo-European *ml̥tós? Proto-Italic *moltos Latin multi- Proto-Indo-European *pel-der.? Latin -plex Latin multiplexlbor. English multiplexed Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ)der.? Latin fōrma Latin fōrmō Latin īnfōrmō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Late Latin īnfōrmātiōder. Middle English enformacioun English information Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin putus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin putō Latin computō Latin computārelbor. French computerbor. English computing Proto-Indo-European *ser-der.? Proto-Italic *serwos Latin servus Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin -itia Latin servitiumbor. Old French servisebor. Old English serfis Middle English servise English service English Multiplexed Information and Computing Service English Multics ▲ English eunuchinflu. English Unix English gnuinflu. English GNU's not Unixacronym English GNU Coined by Richard Stallman in 1983 as a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not Unix”, following convention of naming programs similar to or inspired by existing programs as “(New Name) Is Not (Old Name)”; compare Xinu. Specifically influenced by lack of English words of form ?nu (“?NU is Not Unix”), that gnu is the alphabetically first (and in fact only) English word of the form ?nu (“?’s Not Unix”), that gnu was perceived as a humorous word, and the existence of the song “The Gnu”.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.