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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!nntp.coast.net!howland.erols.net!news.sgi.com!news1.best.com!nntp1.best.com!shellx!kbibb From: kbibb@best.com (Ken Bibb) Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: On the Naming of UNIX Things Date: 16 Nov 1996 11:28:05 -0800 Organization: BEST Internet Communications Lines: 34 Message-ID: <kbibb.848172436@shellx> References: <55vhpf$q3o@mail1.wg.waii.com> <328386bc.112278367@news.ov.com> <562i2k$f3a@kirin.wwa.com> <steve.847913388@fastnet.prd.co.uk> <328bb47a.2221749@news.msn.fullfeed.com> <56jl24$hhg@ordeal.cts.com> <56kli3$395@kirin.wwa.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: shellx.best.com X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #6 (NOV) Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.misc:26480 comp.unix.bsd.misc:1531 alt.folklore.computers:124717 In <56kli3$395@kirin.wwa.com> jeverett@wwa.com (John Everett) writes: >In article <56jl24$hhg@ordeal.cts.com>, cwr@cts.com says... >> >>Jay R. Jaeger (Jay.Jaeger@msn.fullfeed.com) wrote: >>: steve@fastnet.prd.co.uk (Steve Blinkhorn) wrote: >> >>: <snip> >>: > someone who knows how to pronounce daemon >>: >properly. >>: > >>: <snip> >> >>: According to whom? The dictionary I ahve lists the pronunciation as >>: dEmen (long E). However, I know lots of would be Unix hacks who, for >>: some reason, think it should be pronounced dAmen (long A). Or is this >>: one of those British English vs. US English debates? >> >>Daemons and demons differ. Unix uses daemons (the ae is a dipthong) >>but through time and casual usage I think most people now refer to >>them as demons. Pity, since the earlier usage makes more sense. >As I've posted here before, DAEMON was pronounced deemon (not daymon) when it >was implemented on the PDP-10; back when UNIX was just a gleam in Ken >Thompson's eye. But daemon is derived from the greek "daimon" (benevolent spirit). Hence the correct (greek) pronounciation has the dipthong. -- Ken Bibb "If the boundary breaks I'm no longer alone kbibb@arastar.com Don't discourage me kbibb@best.com Bring out the stars/On the first day" kbibb@csd.sgi.com David Sylvian--"The First Day"