[TUHS] On computerese

[Bakul Shah via TUHS]

Apropos of apropos: https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=apropos

etymonline.com is my goto etymological dictionary site. 

> On Sep 30, 2024, at 2:25 PM, Henry Bent <henry.r.bent at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On Mon, 30 Sept 2024 at 16:51, Steffen Nurpmeso <steffen at sdaoden.eu <mailto:steffen at sdaoden.eu>> wrote:
>> Henry Bent wrote in
>>  <CAEdTPBeK4HOjuiqJPtpneqrDj0CF3=5=jv5aOPjYPBisDkPmyg at mail.gmail.com <mailto:jv5aOPjYPBisDkPmyg at mail.gmail.com>>:
>>  |On Mon, 30 Sept 2024 at 14:08, Dan Cross <crossd at gmail.com <mailto: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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