RTFM

(Internet slang, Unix, vulgar) Initialism of read the fucking man page.


GNU

/ˈd͡ʒiːˌɛnˈjuː/

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”.

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.


dev

en-noun

dev (countable and uncountable, plural devs)

French: dev


KDE

The KDE MIDI/Karaoke file player allows you to play .mid and .kar files if your sound card has hardware support for raw MIDI files.

2006, Michael Jang, Mastering Red Hat Linux 9, page 529:

A computer desktop environment that runs on Unix and Linux.


panic

panic (countable and uncountable, plural panics)

The adjective is borrowed from Middle French panique, a word itself borrowed from Ancient Greek πανικός (panikós, “pertaining to Pan”); Pan, the Greek god of fields and woods, was believed to be the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots.
Adjective sense 3 (“pertaining to or resulting from overpowering fear or fright”) is partly an attributive use of the noun.
The noun is derived from the adjective, while the verb is derived from the noun. Verb sense 1.3 (“to highly amuse, entertain, or impress (an audience watching a performance or show”) is derived from noun sense 4 (“a highly amusing or entertaining performer, performance, or show”).

der

If your new driver has an error that panics the system when you load the driver, then the system will panic again when it tries to reboot after the panic. The system will continue the cycle of panic, reboot, and panic as it attempts to reload the faulty driver every time it reboots after panic.

2010, Solaris system engineers, “Managing Devices”, in Solaris 10 System Administration Essentials (Solaris System Administration Series), Santa Clara, Calif.: Sun Microsystems Press, →ISBN, section 9.3.4.2 (Avoiding Recurring Panic):

(countable, computing) Ellipsis of kernel panic (“on Unix-derived operating systems: an action taken by the operating system when it cannot recover from a fatal error”); (by extension) any computer system crash.


Unix

Etymology tree
English Multics
Ancient Greek εὐνή (eunḗ)
Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ-der.
Proto-Hellenic *hékʰō
Ancient Greek ἔχω (ékhō)
Ancient Greek εὐνοῦχος (eunoûkhos)bor.
Latin eunūchusder.
Middle English eunuk
English eunuchinflu.
English Unix
A pun on Multics to sound like eunuchs, as Unix was considered to be an emasculated Multics (see multi- and uni-). Likely coined by Canadian computer scientist Brian Kernighan in 1970.

coinage

(computing) An operating system largely compatible with Unix that qualifies for use of the UNIX trademark, currently owned by The Open Group.


awk

Alfred Aho
Brian Kernighan
Peter J. Weinberger

From the initial letters of the surnames of its authors: Alfred Aho, Peter J. Weinberger, and Brian Kernighan.

I used C, Perl, the Bourne shell, and some awk and tcl to implement these projects.

One thing awk is good for is picking out and possibly rearranging columns within command output.

2002, Æleen Frisch, Essential System Administration: Tools and Techniques for Linux and Unix Administration, 3rd edition, O'Reilly, →ISBN, page 77:

command line interface
command line interface

(computer languages) A Unix scripting language for text processing, or the command line interface itself.


GNOME

Originally an acronym for GNU Network Object Model Environment, but this meaning is now officially deprecated.

An open-source, free software computer desktop environment for Unix operating systems.


daemon

daemons (plural)
dæmon (alternative)
daimon (alternative)
demon (alternative)

A reference to Maxwell's demon. The putative derivation from "disk and execution monitor" is generally considered a backronym.

(computing, Unix) A process (a running program) that does not have a controlling terminal.

démon

computing: process with no controlling terminal


background process

en-noun

background process (plural background processes)

(computing, Unix) A process that is not currently able to receive input from its controlling terminal.


Minix

Coined by Andrew S. Tanenbaum as a contraction of mini-Unix.

(computing) A Unix-like operating system for teaching the principles of operating systems.


fsck

At some point in your Linux career you should ask yourself:
"If there are 3.4 million successful, happy Mandrake users...what the fsck is wrong with me?"

2002, David D. Huff Jr., “Re: Mandrake 8.2 Musings”, in alt.os.linux.mandrake (Usenet):

What the fsck are you on?

2002, Lev Lafayette, “Re: "We are all Africans under the Skin"”, in alt.politics.nationalism.white (Usenet):

2003, Agelmar, Re: SSH problem, alt.roundtable, http://groups.google.com/group/alt.roundtable/msg/789b5801baee1417?dmode=source
At least I know what the fsck is going on with Slack...

(computing, Internet slang, text messaging, vulgar, euphemistic) Fuck.


*nix

Apparently from the wildcard *, indicating any sequence of characters, and Unix and Linux.

Linux, Mac OS X, AIX, Solaris, and DG/UX are examples of *nixes.

(computing, Internet) Unix and various other similar or compatible operating systems.


BSD

Berkeley Software Distribution
w:Berkeley Software Distribution

(computing) Initialism of Berkeley Software Distribution.


Unix-like

en-adj

Unix-like (comparative more Unix-like, superlative most Unix-like)

more Unix-like (comparative)
most Unix-like (superlative)
unix-like (alternative)
Unixlike (alternative)

NetBSD provides its users with a free Unix-like system.

(computing) Behaving similarly to Unix. Often used to describe systems which do not qualify for use of the Unix trademark.


named pipe

interprocess communication
interprocess communication

(computing) An extension to the anonymous pipe concept on Unix and Unix-like systems, used for interprocess communication.


ELF

In ELF executables, there aren't a whole lot of code caves (such as in the PE format), so you are not likely to be able to shove more than just a meager amount of shellcode into existing code slots […]

2016, Ryan "elfmaster" O'Neill, Learning Linux Binary Analysis, page 97:

(file format) Acronym of Executable and Linking Format, a common object file format for Unix.


UUCP

(computing, Internet) Initialism of Unix-to-Unix Copy Protocol, a file transfer protocol used on networks, traditionally for Usenet and e-mail transfers.


Unixy

Unixy (comparative more Unixy, superlative most Unixy)

more Unixy (comparative)
most Unixy (superlative)

On the other hand, since dotfiles are a Unixy concept, we're not that concerned.

2000, Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, Jon Orwant, Programming Perl:

Thing is, all that Unixy stuff is still there; you just can't see it. OS X manages to hide the files from view...

2008, Chris Seibold, Big Book of Apple Hacks:

After all, if you want a listing of your local directory, you could use just plain ls (or any reasonable non-Unixy equivalent).

2008, C Michael Pilato, Ben Collins-Sussman, Brian W Fitzpatrick, Version Control with Subversion:

(computing, informal) Characteristic or reminiscent of Unix operating systems.


frob

Clipping of frobnicate, from frobnitz, coined circa 1958 by David R. Sawyer of the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC). Year of origin uncertain, and could be 1958–1981: frob is not listed in the TMRC dictionaries of 1959 or 1960, and is first listed in the Jargon File (1981 edition), so it may date from the 1960s or 1970s. Possibly variant of or influenced by frotsus (“a protruding arm or trunnion”), which is listed in TMRC 1959 and 1960.

Hand me that frob there, will you?

(MIT, slang) Any small device or object (usually hand-sized) which can be manipulated.


frob

en-verb

frob (third-person singular simple present frobs, present participle frobbing, simple past and past participle frobbed)

frobs (present singular third-person)
frobbing (participle present)
frobbed (participle past)
frobbed (past)

I sketched about 30 different versions, then scanned them in and played around until I got it right, then frobbed it with Photoshop.

1995, Wayne Ause, Instant HTML Web Pages, page 29:

(computing, slang, rare, transitive) To manipulate in some ill-defined way; to tweak or mess about with.

Why don't you go get lunch? I need to frob with this thing for about 30 minutes and then we'll be good to go.

(Silicon Valley, slang) To perform a task that is clear to the speaker but too complex or tedious to be explained, so that outside help is not helpful.

(programming, Linux, Gnu C) To transform and obscure in a trivial fashion with memfrob(3).


uuencode

uuencode (third-person singular simple present uuencodes, present participle uuencoding, simple past and past participle uuencoded)

uuencodes (present singular third-person)
uuencoding (participle present)
uuencoded (participle past)
uuencoded (past)

After the Unix program uuencode (Unix-to-Unix encoding), for encoding binary data for transmission over the UUCP mail system.

(transitive, computing) To encode (binary data) into a text-based format for transmission.


manpage

manpages (plural)
man page (alternative)

From man (“short for manual and a Unix command to display help pages”) + page.

compound

short for <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">manual</i> and a Unix command to display help pages

(computing, Unix) A block of user documentation.


UN*X

A Unix-like operating system (e.g., Linux, macOS, Solaris, etc.).


From Unix operating systems, where /dev (the Unix directory containing device files) contains a null entry representing no device.

dev null (alternative)
dev-null (alternative)
devnull (alternative)

It's possible to suppress the compiler's warnings by redirecting standard error to /dev/null.

To avoid problems when running the script, the output of man man was sent to /dev/null instead of sending it to a real terminal. This has the effect of discarding the already formatted text of the retrieved page.

1980 October, Luis F. Cabrera, “A Performance Evaluation Study of UNIX”, in Harold Joseph Highland, editor, Computer Performance Evaluation Users Group 16th Meeting (National Bureau of Standards Special Publication; 500-65), Washington: Government Printing Office, page 235:

[...] we reserve file descriptors 0, 1, and 2 by opening /dev/null and duplicating the file descriptor returned. /dev/null is a pseudo-driver that forces read to return 0 and write to return as if the entire amount requested had been written. This makes library routines that use file descriptors 0, 1, and 2 harmless.

1993, Stephen A. Rago, UNIX System V Network Programming, Pearson, →ISBN, page 89:

Continuing in the Unix tradition of treating everything as a file, you can redirect a command's output to the null file, /dev/null. The null file consumes all output sent to it, as if /dev/null is a black hole star.

2005, Eric Foster-Johnson with John C. Welch and Micah Anderson, Beginning Shell Scripting, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 263:

(computing) A device file, present in Unix and Unix-like operating systems, that discards all data written to it and yields no output.


gzip

en-verb

gzip (third-person singular simple present gzips, present participle gzipping, simple past and past participle gzipped)

gzips (present singular third-person)
gzipping (participle present)
gzipped (participle past)
gzipped (past)

From the name of the software program, originally short for GNU zip.

One way to deal with this issue is to add the compress command, which gzips the old logs as they are rotated.

2000, Dee-Ann LeBlanc, General Linux I: exam prep:

Image and PDF files should not be gzipped because they are already compressed. Trying to gzip them not only wastes CPU resources, it can also potentially increase file sizes.

2007, Steve Souders, High performance web sites: essential knowledge for frontend engineers, page 30:

Therefore, using the YUI Compressor in combination with gzipping always gives the best results.

2010, Nicholas C. Zakas, High Performance JavaScript, page 171:

(transitive, computing) To compress using the gzip program.


Unixism

Another common Unixism that causes problems on Windows is the use of the select() function.

2000, Mark J. Hammond, Andy Robinson, Python programming on Win32, page 35:

Note the term fork/exec is a Unixism that describes the way many applications first fork a child process and then use the exec system command to start another process.

2006, Joshua B. Smith, Practical OCaml, page 275:

(computing, informal) An idiom or behaviour that is characteristic of the Unix operating system.


kernel panic

If the timer doesn't get updated, watchdog will notice and force a kernel panic.

2005, Karl Kopper, The Linux Enterprise Cluster, No Starch Press, →ISBN, page 178:

(computing) On Unix-derived operating systems, an action taken by the operating system when it cannot recover from a fatal error.


uudecode

uudecode (third-person singular simple present uudecodes, present participle uudecoding, simple past and past participle uudecoded)

uudecodes (present singular third-person)
uudecoding (participle present)
uudecoded (participle past)
uudecoded (past)

After the Unix program uudecode (Unix-to-Unix decoding), for decoding binary data for transmission over the UUCP mail system.

(transitive, computing) To decode (previously uuencoded data) back into its original binary form.


Unixish

en-adj

Unixish (comparative more Unixish, superlative most Unixish)

more Unixish (comparative)
most Unixish (superlative)

(computing) Resembling or characteristic of Unix.


Unix weenie

(computing, slang, derogatory) A person enamored of Unix.


Unix time

en-noun

Unix time (countable and uncountable, plural Unix times)

Unix times (plural)
UNIX time (alternative)

(computing, uncountable) A widely used date and time representation that measures time by the number of nonleap seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970.


chroot

en-verb

chroot (third-person singular simple present chroots, present participle chrooting, simple past and past participle chrooted)

chroots (present singular third-person)
chrooting (participle present)
chrooted (participle past)
chrooted (past)

From the name of the Unix command, short for “change root”.

Running a server in a chrooted environment greatly enhances overall system security on a Unix system.

2004, Jeremy D. Zawodny, Derek J. Balling, High Performance MySQL: Optimization, Backups, Replication, Load Balancing & More, O'Reilly, →ISBN, page 235:

(computing, Unix) To change the apparent root directory for a running process, affecting whether or not it can access certain files etc.


FreeBSD

(computing) A Unix-like operating system that is derived from Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), notable for having the largest following in the BSD community.


NetBSD

a Unix-like operating system that is derived from Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), notable for running on 57 different platforms


swap partition

So called because data can be swapped between memory and this partition.

(computing) A disk partition designated as auxiliary memory, used primarily on Unix and Linux systems.


Unix philosophy

(computing) An approach to software development based on the experience of developing the Unix operating system, emphasizing the creation of minimalist, modular, extensible code that can be easily maintained and repurposed.


CUPS

(software) Acronym of Common Unix Printing System, a subsystem for using printers, found across many Unix and Unix-like operating systems.


Unixoid

From the perspective of erstwhile Unixoids, those are all toy operating systems, while Unix is what you use when you have real work to do […]

1995, G. Burgess Allison, The Lawyer's Guide to the Internet, page 339:


unfsckable

en-adj

unfsckable (comparative more unfsckable, superlative most unfsckable)

more unfsckable (comparative)
most unfsckable (superlative)

I was peacefully running a fairly stock black slab with 3.0 (no kernel servers, in particular) when my external 1.2GB drive flamed out sort of like Mark described, only more so: scores of media errors and bad sectors, crashes, kernel panics, etc. This built up gradually over about 5 days until my system was totally unbootable, unfsckable, and unusable.

1994 January 17, Deborah Howland, “3.2 crashes”, in comp.sys.next.bugs (Usenet):

I'm a fan of SCSI hard drives, and I like to set up ext3 with an external journal, ie.^([sic]) on a different physical drive, which speeds things up a bit, though at the cost of making your data twice as vulnerable to hard drive failures (if the journal drive dies you're likely to end up with an unfsckable mess on the data drive).

2003 October 8, Pigeon, “How to kill X?”, in linux.debian.user (Usenet):

Linux file system hopelessly corrupted and unfsckable. Despaired of losing all the data accumulated since the last CD backup, but then remembered an old Knoppix CD in the drawer. It detected all the partitions on the hdd, plus my USB stick, enabling a retrieve of my precious data.

2006 April 26, BrianM, “Knoppix is Kneat”, in nz.comp (Usenet):

(computing, of a filesystem) Unable to be repaired with fsck; highly corrupt.


Lunix

Blend of Linux + lunatic or perhaps loon.

(informal, dysphemistic) Deliberate misspelling of Linux.


Lunix

A Unix-like operating system, unrelated to Linux, for the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 computers.