Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word GNU. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word GNU, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say GNU in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word GNU you have here. The definition of the word GNU will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofGNU, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
2024 May 30, Sarah Dean and David McKenzie, “First results in South Africa’s election suggest it is heading for biggest political shift since apartheid”, in CNN:
This scenario would hark back to the post-apartheid era when South Africa operated under a GNU to oversee the new constitution, led by Mandela as president and FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki as deputy presidents, between April 1994 and February 1997.
Etymology 2
GNU project logo
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”.
^ Richard Stallman (2006 March 9) “The Free Software Movement and the Future of Freedom: The name "GNU"”, in Free Software Foundation Europe, archived from the original on 2015-03-16