On Fri, 31 Aug 2001, John O'Gorman wrote:
> Not so
>
> The letter y is not Latin at all. It was introduced into the Latin
> language (along with z) to render Greek words.
>
> Lyric is a Greek word, not Latin.
I'll consult with my local linguistic guru about other possibilities but I
think you're right about the origin of y. You haven't said how to
pronounce it though.
> If, as you say, the upercase X of LyX is to echo the X of LaTeX, does
> that not strengthen my case?
It would if it weren't for the fact that the X was meant to reflect the X
in X-Windows. At least that is what I was told when I first joined the
team about 5 years ago.
> The argument is not really whether LyX is Latin or Greek - the y make
> it Greek. The nub of the matter is whether the x is a Xi or a Chi. The
> uppercase X is the clincher that indicates Chi.
So is the X in X-Windows an X, a Xi, a Chi or the mark of a very drunk
Zorro?
> Incidentally, the x on the end of Unix, is I believe, an echo of the x
> on the end of Asterix, Obelix etc. When Unix was invented (say 1970),
> those brilliant works of Goscinny and Uderzo were wildly popular. It
> is remarkable to think that Gallic heroes like Vercingetorix still
> have an impact on us 2000 years later.
Fascinating.
> John O'Gorman
> > To back up my argument, I recall the original name that was Lyrix which even
> > more resembles the unix/linux family of words (where unix was originally
> > written unics)
Allan. (ARRae)
