UNIX system
1
4.4
- noun
- /ˈjuːnɪks ˈsɪstəm/
- Specialized
:
sistema UNIX
- In 1984, the Thompson lecture evoked wry grins and minor sweating for Unix system administrators at universities because those were the only places where computers were exposed to hostile users who were allowed to compile their own programs.
Examples
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I could run my productivity apps, connect to my Windows shares, and still SSH to any Unix system that needed my attention.
Blog text (7) -
Back then, Unix systems cost $50,000 or more, and you only had access to one through an employer.
Blog text (6) -
This is a Unix system.
Fiction book (1993) -
My university didn't get a Unix system until 1990, my senior year.
Blog text (6) -
I got a job offer to be a Unix system administrator a week before I graduated in 1991.
Blog text (6) -
It's a UNIX system.
-
That got me access to a Unix system (SunOS).
Blog text (6) -
This is as close to "rooting" as logging in as root in a newly installed UNIX system.
Blog text (24) -
Side by side with the Unix environment, the system supports a number of high-security, privilege-separated applications previously not possible in a traditional Unix system.
Academic text (2011) -
In the 1990s, many universities upgraded to a UNIX system to support their growing computer science programs.
Synonyms
11
4.5
An operating system for computers that lets many people use the same machine at once, often on servers or workstations
An operating system used on servers and work computers that lets many people use one computer together
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward noun-noun composition: 'UNIX' identifies a particular operating system and 'system' denotes a collection/platform, so the combined meaning — a system based on or running the UNIX operating system — is directly derivable from the parts. The compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The UNIX system name comes from a joke made in contrast to a much bigger system called 'Multics'. The creators wanted a smaller, simpler system, so they called it UNIX, and that short name stuck — today it still names the stable, powerful 'operating systems' that let many users work at once.