Grep
/ɡrɛp/noun
A command or action that searches text for a specified pattern, especially in Unix and related systems.
Did you know?Grep is famously named after the ex command g/re/p, meaning “globally search for a regular expression and print matching lines,” which turned a programmer’s shorthand into a real word.
Etymological Timeline
1970s
English
grep
“A Unix text-search command and its verb form, created from editor shorthand.”
1970s
Unix editor shorthand
g/re/p
“A command sequence meaning globally search for a regular expression and print matching lines.”
1970s
English
regular expression
“A pattern language used to describe sets of strings for searching and matching.”
1940s
Mathematics/Logic
regular
“Structured or rule-governed; in formal language theory, describing a class of patterns.”
Late 19th Century
Latin
regula
“A rule, straightedge, or standard.”
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