Os

OS /O-S/

1. [Operating System] n. An abbreviation heavily used in email, occasionally in speech. 2. n. obs. On ITS, an output spy. See "OS and JEDGAR" in Appendix A.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.

OS is an an abbreviation for Operating System, the program that makes your computer usable, (for the most part). The term is now coming into "normal" speech as computing comes to bear more and more weight on our lives and ordinary people become more tech-aware.

This might be partially due to the rise in popularity of the Macintosh platform which pragmatically calls its native operating system "OS - whatever version", the current version being OS X.

We'll be seeing the this term more if a version of OS X becomes available for the Intel PC platform, as is rumored in some quarters.

Os (?), n.; pl. Ossa (#). [L.]

A bone.

© Webster 1913.

Os, n.; pl. Ora (#). [L.]

A mouth; an opening; an entrance.

© Webster 1913.

Os (?), n.; pl. Osar (#). [Sw. os ridge, chain of hills, pl. osar.] Geol.

One of the ridges of sand or gravel found in Sweden, etc., supposed by some to be of marine origin, but probably formed by subglacial waters. The osar are similar to the kames of Scotland and the eschars of Ireland. See Eschar.

© Webster 1913.