gnu

n : large African antelope having a head with horns like an ox

and a long tufted tail [syn: {wildebeest}]

GNU

/g▫noo/ 1. A {recursive acronym}:

"GNU's Not Unix!". The {Free Software Foundation}'s project

to provide a freely distributable replacement for {Unix}. The

GNU Manifesto was published in the March 1985 issue of

Dr. Dobb's Journal but the GNU project started a year and a

half earlier when {Richard Stallman} was trying to get funding

to work on his freely distributable editor, {Emacs}.

{Emacs} and the GNU {C} compiler, {gcc}, two tools designed

for this project, have become very popular. GNU software is

available from many {GNU archive site}s.

See also {Hurd}.

2. {John Gilmore}.

[{Jargon File}]

(1997-04-12)