exec /eg-zek'/ or /eks'ek/ vt., n.
1. [Unix: from
`execute'] Synonym for chain, derives from the
exec(2) call. 2. [from `executive'] obs. The command
interpreter for an OS (see shell); term esp. used
around mainframes, and prob. derived from UNIVAC's archaic EXEC 2
and EXEC 8 operating systems. 3. At IBM and VM/CMS shops, the
equivalent of a shell command file (among VM/CMS users).
The mainstream `exec' as an abbreviation for (human) executive is
not used. To a hacker, an `exec' is a always a program,
never a person.
