UN*X

2 definitions found

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  UN*X n. Used to refer to the Unix operating system (a trademark of
     AT&T, then of Novell, then of Univel, then of the Open Group; the source
     code parted company with it after Novell and was owned by SCO, which was
     acquired by Caldera) in writing, but avoiding the need for the ugly
     {(TM)} typography. Also used to refer to any or all varieties of Unixoid
     operating systems. Ironically, lawyers now say that the requirement for


     the trademark postfix has no legal force, but the asterisk usage is
     entrenched anyhow. It has been suggested that there may be a
     psychological connection to practice in certain religions (especially
     Judaism) in which the name of the deity is never written out in full,
     e.g., `YHWH' or `G-d' is used. See also {glob} and {splat out}.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  UN*X
       
           Used to refer to the {Unix}
          {operating system} (a trademark of {AT&T}) in writing, but
          avoiding the need for the ugly (TM) typography.  Also used to
          refer to any or all varieties of Unixoid operating systems.
          Ironically, lawyers now say that the requirement for the
          TM-postfix has no legal force, but the asterisk usage is
          entrenched anyhow.
       
          It has been suggested that there may be a psychological
          connection to practice in certain religions (especially
          Judaism) in which the name of the deity is never written out
          in full, e.g. "YHWH" or "G--d" is used.
       
          See also {glob}.
       
          (1998-04-17)