This scenario would hark back to the post-apartheid era when South Africa operated under a GNU to oversee the new constitution, led by Mandela as president and FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki as deputy presidents, between April 1994 and February 1997. 2024 May 30, Sarah Dean and David McKenzie, “First results in South Africa’s election suggest it is heading for biggest political shift since apartheid”, in CNN:
Etymology tree
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English GNU
Proto-Indo-European *né
Proto-Germanic *ne
Proto-West Germanic *ne
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey-
Proto-Indo-European *-u
Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu
Proto-Indo-European *-osinflu.
Proto-Germanic *aiwaz
Proto-West Germanic *aiw
univ.
Proto-West Germanic *naiw
Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ-
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *wékʷtisder.?
Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰtisder.?
Proto-Germanic *wihtą
Proto-West Germanic *wiht
Proto-West Germanic *naiwwiht
Old English nāwiht
Old English *nōht
Middle English nought
Middle English not
English not
Proto-Indo-European *mel-der.
Proto-Indo-European *ml̥tós?
Proto-Italic *moltos
Latin multi-
Proto-Indo-European *pel-der.?
Latin -plex
Latin multiplexlbor.
English multiplexed
Proto-Indo-European *h₁én
Proto-Italic *en
Proto-Italic *en-
Latin in-
Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ)der.?
Latin fōrma
Latin fōrmō
Latin īnfōrmō
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *-Hō
Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō
Proto-Italic *-tiō
Latin -tiō
Late Latin īnfōrmātiōder.
Middle English enformacioun
English information
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Proto-Italic *kom-
Latin con-
Latin putus
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.
Proto-Italic *-ājō
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin putō
Latin computō
Latin computārelbor.
French computerbor.
English computing
Proto-Indo-European *ser-der.?
Proto-Italic *serwos
Latin servus
Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós
Proto-Italic *-ijos
Proto-Italic *-ios
Old Latin -ios
Latin -ius
Latin -ia
Latin -itia
Latin servitiumbor.
Old French servisebor.
Old English serfis
Middle English servise
English service
English Multiplexed Information and Computing Service
English Multics
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English eunuchinflu.
English Unix
English gnuinflu.
English GNU's not Unixacronym
English GNU
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”.
Meanings
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.