Etymology

MACOS

M3A1C3O1S1

Today it means: Man: A Course of Study. A controversial education programme in the 1970s. Full definition →

English OS ← Middle French systeme ← Late Latin systēma
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The story

  1. Proto-Celtic*makkʷos
  2. Old Irishmacc
  3. Middle Irishmac
  4. Scottish Gaelicmac
  5. Scottish Gaelican
  6. Proto-Celtic*to-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*wéydtus
  9. Proto-Celtic*wissus
  10. Proto-Celtic*towissus
  11. Proto-Celtic*towissākos
  12. Old Irishtoísech
  13. Scottish Gaelictòisiche
  14. Scottish GaelicMac an Tòisiche
  15. EnglishMcIntosh
  16. EnglishMacintosh
  17. EnglishMac
  18. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ep-
  19. Proto-Indo-European*h₃épos
  20. Proto-Italic*opos
  21. Latinopus
  22. Latinopera
  23. Latinoperātus
  24. Englishoperate
  25. Englishoperating
  26. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  27. Proto-Indo-European*ḱómder.?
  28. Proto-Indo-European*sem-der.?
  29. Proto-Hellenic*ksún
  30. Ancient Greekσύν (sún)
  31. Ancient Greekσυν- (sun-)
  32. Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
  33. Proto-Indo-European*stísteh₂ti
  34. Proto-Hellenic*hístāmi
  35. Ancient Greekἵστημι (hístēmi)
  36. Ancient Greekσῠνῐ́στημῐ (sŭnĭ́stēmĭ)
  37. Ancient Greekσύστημα (sústēma)
  38. Late Latinsystēma
  39. Middle Frenchsysteme
  40. Englishsystem
  41. Englishoperating system
  42. EnglishOS
  43. English todaymacOS

From Mac (“Macintosh”) + OS (“operating system”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.