Etymology

apache

A1P3A1C3H4E1

Today it means: Any of several Athabascan-speaking peoples of the American southwest excluding Navajo, i.e., Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Plains Apache, or Western Apache. Full definition →

Spanish apache ← zun ʔa·paču
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The story

  1. zun · derived fromʔa·paču“Navajos”
  2. Spanish · borrowed fromapache
  3. English todayApache

From American Spanish apache, most likely from Zuni ʔa·paču (“Navajos”), or possibly from the Yavapai word ʔpačə, meaning "people". The web server software was named to honor the Apache people, although much has been made of the fact that its design was "patchy" (constructed by assembling software patches). See Apache HTTP Server § Name. The Parisian gangsters were named after the American tribe because of their aggressive reputation.

First known use, by meaning

  • released in 1995 Apache HTTP Server, a widely used open source web server software suite.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.