Word.ws English Dictionary

unix

/ˈjuː.nɪks/

unix is the alternative form of Unix.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Unix

Unix

  1. An operating system that shares the original source code by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson.
  2. An operating system largely compatible with Unix that qualifies for use of the UNIX trademark, currently owned by The Open Group.

Noun capitalized: Unix

Unix (plural Unixes or Unices or Unixen)

  1. (informal) Any of the above plus Unix-like operating systems similar to Unix but not qualifying for use of the UNIX trademark.
    • GNU is not Unix.
    • The Linux kernel operating system is one of the most popular Unixes.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: UNIX

UNIX

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Unix.
    • The successful candidate will have a BS in Computer Science (MS preferred) and 4–7 years experience with the UNIX development environment using high level tools which UNIX provides.1982 March 14, Rockwell International, “Software Support Specialist”, in Chicago Tribune, final edition, 135th year, number 73, Chicago, Ill., →ISSN, →OCLC, section 15, page 10, column 4

Forms of unix

Noun
pluralunixes
pluralunices
pluralUnixes
pluralUnices
pluralUnixen
Proper noun
alternative formUNIX
alternative formunix

Origin of unix

A pun on Multics to sound like eunuchs, as Unix was considered to be an emasculated Multics (see multi- and uni-). Likely coined by Canadian computer scientist Brian Kernighan in 1970.

Words formed from unix

Phrases with unix

Questions about unix

What does unix mean?
Unix means an operating system that shares the original source code by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson.
What is unix the alternative form of?
Unix is the alternative form of Unix.
What part of speech is unix?
Unix can be a proper noun or a noun.
How do you pronounce unix?
Unix is pronounced /ˈjuː.nɪks/.

Words near unix in the dictionary

  1. univorous
  2. univs
  3. univs.
  4. univussity
  5. UniWB
  6. unix
  7. Unix philosophy
  8. Unix time
  9. UNIX times
  10. Unix weenie
  11. Unix weenies

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: unix (page history and authors); Unix (page history and authors); UNIX (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-Unix.oga.

Cite this entry: “unix.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/unix. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.