gnu

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

gnu
    n 1: large African antelope having a head with horns like an ox
         and a long tufted tail [syn: {gnu}, {wildebeest}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Gnu \Gnu\, n. [Hottentot gnu, or nju: cf. F. gnou.] (Zool.)
   One of two species of large South African antelopes of the
   genus {Catoblephas}, having a mane and bushy tail, and curved
   horns in both sexes. [Written also {gnoo}.]
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: The common gnu or wildebeest ({Catoblephas gnu}) is
         plain brown; the brindled gnu or blue wildebeest ({C.
         gorgon}) is larger, with transverse stripes of black on
         the neck and shoulders.
         [1913 Webster]

from The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906)

GNU, n.  An animal of South Africa, which in its domesticated state
resembles a horse, a buffalo and a stag.  In its wild condition it is
something like a thunderbolt, an earthquake and a cyclone.

    A hunter from Kew caught a distant view
        Of a peacefully meditative gnu,
    And he said:  "I'll pursue, and my hands imbrue
        In its blood at a closer interview."
    But that beast did ensue and the hunter it threw
        O'er the top of a palm that adjacent grew;
    And he said as he flew:  "It is well I withdrew
        Ere, losing my temper, I wickedly slew
        That really meritorious gnu."
                                                           Jarn Leffer

from Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)

GNU
 /gnoo/, not, /noo/

   1. [acronym: `GNU's Not Unix!', see {recursive acronym}] A
   Unix-workalike development effort of the Free Software Foundation
   headed by Richard Stallman. GNU EMACS and the GNU C compiler, two
   tools designed for this project, have become very popular in hackerdom
   and elsewhere. The GNU project was designed partly to proselytize for
   RMS's position that information is community property and all software
   source should be shared. One of its slogans is "Help stamp out
   software hoarding!" Though this remains controversial (because it
   implicitly denies any right of designers to own, assign, and sell the
   results of their labors), many hackers who disagree with RMS have
   nevertheless cooperated to produce large amounts of high-quality
   software for free redistribution under the Free Software Foundation's
   imprimatur. The GNU project has a web page at http://www.gnu.org/. See
   {EMACS}, {copyleft}, {General Public Virus}, {Linux}.

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

GNU

   <body, project> /g*noo/ 1. A {recursive acronym}:
   "GNU's Not Unix!".  The {Free Software Foundation}'s project
   to provide a freely distributable replacement for {Unix}.  The
   GNU Manifesto was published in the March 1985 issue of
   Dr. Dobb's Journal but the GNU project started a year and a
   half earlier when {Richard Stallman} was trying to get funding
   to work on his freely distributable editor, {Emacs}.

   {Emacs} and the GNU {C} compiler, {gcc}, two tools designed
   for this project, have become very popular.  GNU software is
   available from many {GNU archive sites}.

   See also {Hurd}.

   2. <person> {John Gilmore}.

   [{Jargon File}]

   (1997-04-12)

from V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2006)

GNU
       GNU's Not Unix (recursive!, Unix, GNU, OS)

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

33 Moby Thesaurus words for "gnu":
      Cape elk, Virginia deer, antelope, buck, camel, camelopard,
      caribou, deer, deerlet, doe, dromedary, eland, elk, fallow deer,
      fawn, gazelle, giraffe, hart, hartebeest, hind, kaama, moose,
      mule deer, musk deer, okapi, red deer, reindeer, roe, roe deer,
      roebuck, springbok, stag, wildebeest