Hacker News Reader

Comment by billybob | Hacker News Reader

I've always wondered about this.

Also: I pronounce "daemon" as "DAY-mun," as opposed to "demon", which I pronounce "DEE-mun." Do the rest of you make this distinction?

View on HN

I pronounce it DAY-mun when speaking to other UNIX hackers and DEE-mun when speaking to windows users or regular users. I've never been formerly told how to pronounce it when I started hacking in Redhat. Since most early hackers were smarter than most I assumed there was some sort of word trickery involved (met another guy that pronounced it DAY-EE-mun) that would make me stick out like a newb.

I do it the opposite.

I've known for a long time how it was meant to be pronounced, so when talking to other programmers/hacker types, I say DEE-mun, but when talking to ordinary people I say DAE-mun so they don't say "wtf demons on computers now?" or somesuch - most don't, but some more religious types look at you funny...

I guess I was overthinking it. Thanks!

I've always said "DEE-mun," just as I say Julius SEE-zer, not SAY-zer.

I've always said "DIE-mun" just as I say Yulius "KAI-zer"...

Unfortunately, the Classical Latin pronunciation is not used colloquially, so in everyday life, I must stray from what I learned, lest I be viewed as the incorrect one.

According to Wikipedia the native speakers said [ˈkajsar].

Dammit, now I want to say CHEEser VILhelm...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/daemon Pronounces it DEE-mon which is how I've always said it. (The Golden Compass audiobooks and movie also pronounce their spirit animals, called Daemons, as DEE-mon).

I always thought the UNIX term came from the meaning of a subordinate/helper spirit (which is what they are, basically - helper services)

Edit: interchangeably, DEE-mon or DEE-mun

Yes, I do. The only problem then, is how to pronounce Damon, as in Matt.

As an authority on the subject, I submit that since "Damon" is pronounced Day-mun, that "daemon" must be pronounced Dee-mun, as it's just an alternate spelling of "demon".

But mostly I just want to stop being confused whenever someone says "daemon" around the office, and I think they're talking to me.

Typically in English, an e after a vowel indicates the vowel should make a hard sound rather than soft. So looking at it that way, Daemon should have a hard a (like the name of the letter), thus DAY-mon.

The guy from the Bourne Shell Identity?

See, Team America: World Police for clarification.

It really gets interesting when you work (as a sysadmin in a Unix shop) for a guy with that name.

I've never been called "demon," but people are constantly calling me "DAY-MEE-ON."

Ain't that the truth.

DAY-mun. But you really gotta drag out the AY.

Yeah, I do that too. I first did it by accident but I liked the distinction between the two words so I just pronounce daemon like that.

I also pronounce it DAY-mon like GAY-lic.

I would pronounce it dea-mon. I think there exists a clouded shift on the vowel pair.

I say it exactly like you do.

to stay true to their ancient greek origin, you should pronounce them 'deh-mon

Reply on news.ycombinator.com