[TUHS] On computerese

[Henry Bent]

On Mon, 30 Sept 2024 at 16:51, Steffen Nurpmeso <steffen at sdaoden.eu> wrote:

> Henry Bent wrote in
>  <CAEdTPBeK4HOjuiqJPtpneqrDj0CF3=5=jv5aOPjYPBisDkPmyg at mail.gmail.com>:
>  |On Mon, 30 Sept 2024 at 14:08, Dan Cross <crossd at gmail.com> wrote:
>  |> This makes me wonder when the `apropos` command was introduced; surely
>  |> the name was also somewhat of an obscure joke ("what is apropos of
>  |> listing a directory?" is not exactly the phrase that springs
>  |> immediately to mind when wondering how to list a directory).
>  |>
>  |
>  |Looks like it was introduced in 2BSD, written by Bill Joy, though the
>  |4.4BSD manpage claims that it was introduced in 3BSD.  Neither the BSD
>  |source nor manpage are particularly enlightening about the choice of
> name.
>
> "a pro position" maybe.
>
> needs a "pro user" from the start; AI would instead and
> additionally clean your back i would assume.
>

Well, I no longer have institutional access to the full Oxford English
Dictionary, but Merriam Webster is happy to provide an extended paragraph
(!) on the etymology:

--
*Apropos* wears its ancestry like a badge—or a beret. From the French
phrase *à propos*, meaning “to the purpose,” the word’s emphasis lands on
its last syllable, which ends in a silent “s”: \ap-ruh-POH. *Apropos*
typically functions as an adjective describing what is suitable or
appropriate (“an apropos comment”), or as a preposition (with or without
*of*) meaning “with regard to,” as in “apropos (of) the decision,
implementation will take some time.” The phrase “apropos of nothing”
suggests that something does not relate to a specified topic.
--

-Henry
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