The definition of GNU is simple: GNU is an operating system. In 1983
I announced the plan to develop a Unix-like operating system that
would be entirely free software, and I gave the system the name GNU.
developing the system is a project. That's the GNU Project. Carrying
out such a project involves writing lots of programs. Programs that
have been developed for GNU or contributed by their developers
specifically to GNU are called GNU programs, GNU packages, or
collectively GNU software. (Those three terms are equivalent.) The
manuals developed for GNU or contributed specifically to GNU are GNU
manuals.
We wrote some licenses to use on GNU programs and manuals.
These are the GNU licenses.
GNU is also associated with a movement and a philosophy, but we don't
call them "GNU". We call them the Free Software Movement, and its
philosophy. Nonetheless, the main place people come across them is in
connection with GNU, and the success of the GNU Project is the best
way to refute the common presupposition that idealism like ours is
impractical. So we want people to know of the system as GNU.
We're looking for a good term to use for "programs released under GNU
licenses", because we want to educate the community that this is not
the same thing as free software (there are other free software
licenses) and not the same thing as GNU software (releasing a program
under a GNU license does not imply that you did it as part of the GNU
Project, as witness for example Linux). If you have a suggestion, and
a few of your friends like it, please email it to me.
Richard Stallman
Chief GNUisance
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