Apropos is a tool to search the headers of the man pages for a string.
What does the name apropos mean?
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1I would suggest visiting this question over on the English Language stack exchange - but @Maciej covered it anyway.– Rory AlsopFeb 27, 2011 at 20:28
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I was going to suggest asking this question to google, but whatever B-)– Brian PostowMar 1, 2011 at 19:11
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6 Answers
ap·ro·pos
/ˌæprəˈpoʊ/ Show Spelled[ap-ruh-poh] Show IPA –adverb
1. fitting; at the right time; to the purpose; opportunely.
2. Obsolete. By the way. –adjective
3. opportune; pertinent: apropos remarks. —Idiom
4. apropos of, with reference to; in respect or regard to: apropos of the preceding statement.
Definition #4 is where the unix command stems from. The results returned are in reference to the input argument.
I always thought it is from à propos meaning "in connection, concerning, with regard, in reference".
Edit: Apparently there is also word apropos and à propos meaning the same which are derived from French à propos.
answered Feb 27, 2011 at 19:30
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On my system, dictapropos tells me:
2 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Apropos \Ap"ro*pos`\ ([a^]p"r[-o]*p[=o]`), a. & adv. [F. [`a]
propos; [`a] (L. ad) + propos purpose, L. proposium plan,
purpose, fr. proponere to propose. See {Propound}.]
1. Opportunely or opportune; seasonably or seasonable.
[1913 Webster]
A tale extremely apropos. --Pope.
[1913 Webster]
2. By the way; to the purpose; suitably to the place or
subject; -- a word used to introduce an incidental
observation, suited to the occasion, though not strictly
belonging to the narration.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
apropos
adv 1: at an opportune time; "your letter arrived apropos" [syn:
{seasonably}, {timely}, {well-timed}, {apropos}]
2: introducing a different topic; in point of fact;
"incidentally, I won't go to the party" [syn: {by the way},
{by the bye}, {incidentally}, {apropos}]
adj 1: of an appropriate or pertinent nature [ant: {malapropos}]
answered Feb 28, 2011 at 0:48
Also in French version of most software, the "About" item is translated by "À propos" which is a fairly accurate translation.
In English apropos is a word that means appropriate or at an opportune time.
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In computing, apropos is a command to search the manual pages files in Unix and Unix-like operating systems.
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5I think that is obvious here, considering he linked to the wikipedia article on it. Your answer is not valid to the question. Feb 28, 2011 at 1:20