Source : WordNet®

UNIX
     n : trademark for a powerful operating system [syn: {UNIX system},
          {UNIX operating system}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Unix
     
         /yoo'niks/ (Or "UNIX", in the authors'
        words, "A weak pun on Multics") Plural "Unices".  An
        interactive {time-sharing} {operating system} invented in 1969
        by {Ken Thompson} after {Bell Labs} left the {Multics}
        project, originally so he could play games on his scavenged
        {PDP-7}.  {Dennis Ritchie}, the inventor of {C}, is considered
        a co-author of the system.
     
        The turning point in Unix's history came when it was
        reimplemented almost entirely in C during 1972 - 1974, making
        it the first {source-portable} OS.  Unix subsequently
        underwent mutations and expansions at the hands of many
        different people, resulting in a uniquely flexible and
        {developer}-friendly environment.
     
        By 1991, Unix had become the most widely used {multi-user}
        general-purpose operating system in the world.  Many people
        consider this the most important victory yet of hackerdom over
        industry opposition (but see {Unix weenie} and {Unix
        conspiracy} for an opposing point of view).
     
        Unix is now offered by many manufacturers and is the subject
        of an international standardisation effort [called?].
        Unix-like operating systems include {AIX}, {A/UX}, {BSD},
        {Debian}, {FreeBSD}, {GNU}, {HP-UX}, {Linux}, {NetBSD},
        {NEXTSTEP}, {OpenBSD}, {OPENSTEP}, {OSF}, {POSIX}, {RISCiX},
        {Solaris}, {SunOS}, {System V}, {Ultrix}, {USG Unix}, {Version
        7}, {Xenix}.
     
        "Unix" or "UNIX"?  Both seem roughly equally popular, perhaps
        with a historical bias toward the latter.  "UNIX" is a
        registered trademark of {The Open Group}, however, since it is
        a name and not an acronym, "Unix" has been adopted in this
        dictionary except where a larger name includes it in upper
        case.  Since the OS is {case-sensitive} and exists in many
        different versions, it is fitting that its name should reflect
        this.
     
        {The UNIX Reference Desk
        (http://www.geek-girl.com/unix.html)}.
     
        {Spanish fire extinguisher
       
     (ftp://linux.mathematik.tu-darmstadt.de/pub/linux/people/okir/unix_flame.gif)}.
     
        [{Jargon File}]
     
        (2001-05-14)