GNU

gnu

either of two sturdy antelopes, Connochaetes taurinus (brindled gnu) or the much rarer C. gnou (white-tailed gnu), inhabiting the savannas of Africa, having an oxlike head and a long tufted tail

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

gnu

[nü]

(vertebrate zoology)

Any of several large African antelopes of the genera Connochaetes and Gorgon having a large oxlike head with horns that characteristically curve downward and outward and then up, with the bases forming a frontal shield in older individuals.

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GNU

[gə′nü]

(computer science)

Freely distributed software for producing and distributing nonproprietary software that is compatible with Unix, but is not Unix.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

GNU

(body, project)

/g*noo/ 1. A recursive acronym: "GNU's Not Unix!". The Free Software Foundation's project to provide a freely distributable replacement for Unix. The GNU Manifesto was published in the March 1985 issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal but the GNU project started a year and a half earlier when Richard Stallman was trying to get funding to work on his freely distributable editor, Emacs.

Emacs and the GNU C compiler, gcc, two tools designed for this project, have become very popular. GNU software is available from many GNU archive sites.

See also Hurd.

2. <person> John Gilmore.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

GNU

(GNU's Not Unix) A Unix-like operating system developed by the free software movement starting in 1984. In 1992, the almost-complete GNU system was combined with the Linux kernel, producing the GNU/Linux system. The GNU Project developed many of the core programs in GNU, but also included available free software such as the X Window System and TeX. See GNU Project, GNU/Linux, Free Software Foundation, free software and Linux.

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Gnu

 

(Connochaetes) a genus of large cloven-hoof mammals with massive bodies. The body length of a gnu may be 2 m, the height at the withers 1.3 m, the tail length 35—55 cm, and the weight as much as 275 kg. The head is heavy and the horns sharply bent. The body is covered with short brownish-gray hair, which is longer on the tail, the neck, and the areas around the mane and “beard.”

The gnu is a polygamous herding animal that inhabits the broad open plains of eastern and southern Africa. It makes seasonal migrations, feeding on various kinds of grassy vegetation. Mating occurs in June, with a gestation period of eight or nine months and one offspring at a time. The genus comprises two species: the whitetailed gnu (C. gnou), found in southern Africa to the south of the Limpopo River, and the brindled gnu (Gorgon taurinus), found throughout eastern Africa from the Orange River to Uganda. The gnu is hunted for its meat and hide, and its numbers are dwindling. It is now numerous only in protected territories. The gnu readily endures captivity and reproduces well. In the USSR it has been successfully acclimated in Askania-Nova.

O. L. ROSSOLIMO

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.