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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!feed1.news.erols.com!howland.erols.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!news1.best.com!nntp1.best.com!shellx!kbibb From: kbibb@best.com (Ken Bibb) Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: On the Naming of UNIX Things Date: 19 Nov 1996 21:24:34 -0800 Organization: BEST Internet Communications Lines: 37 Message-ID: <kbibb.848466873@shellx> References: <55vhpf$q3o@mail1.wg.waii.com> <56jl24$hhg@ordeal.cts.com> <56kli3$395@kirin.wwa.com> <kbibb.848172436@shellx> <56qcqn$sl7@web.nmti.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: shellx.best.com X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #6 (NOV) Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.misc:26548 comp.unix.bsd.misc:1566 alt.folklore.computers:124933 In <56qcqn$sl7@web.nmti.com> peter@nmti.com (Peter da Silva) writes: >In article <kbibb.848172436@shellx>, Ken Bibb <kbibb@best.com> wrote: >> But daemon is derived from the greek "daimon" (benevolent spirit). >I thought it was just spirit. I heard the "benevolent" bit in an old Unix Review, if I remember right. Let's see what Liddle-Scott's Lexicon says (greek transliterated between asterisks): *daimon, *onos*, [...] a god, goddess, like *theos*, *thea*, Hom., Trag., etc.:--in Hom. also Deity or Divine power (*theos* denote a God in person), Lat. numen; *pros daimona* against the Divine power; *sun daimoni* with it, by its favour, Il.:--so, *kata daimona*, nearly = *tucheh*, by chance, Hdt.; *en tu d. = theun en gounasi*, Soph. 2. one's daemon or genius, one's lot or fortune, *stugeros daimun* Od.; *daimonos alsa kake* Ib.: absol. good or ill fortune, Trag.; esp. of the evil genius of a family, Aesch. II. daimones, in Hes., are the souls of men of the golden age, forming the link between gods and men:--later, of any departed souls, Lat. manes, lemures, Luc. III. in N.T. an evil spirit, a demon, devil. (Perh. from *daiu* B, to divide or distribute destinies.) Well, that seems to support any number of interpretations :) Interesting how the exclusively evil interpretation is first noted as part of the New Testament. -- Ken Bibb Unsolicited advertisements sent to these accounts kbibb@best.com will be charged $250/msg. kbibb@csd.sgi.com