[OT] What Does "/etc" Stand For and Why?

[alex]

Brett Kirksey wrote:

>On Monday 27 September 2004 at 11:03+0100, Benjamin Edwards wrote:
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>>etcetera
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>Thanks for the response. Do you know _why_ it stands for "et cetera"? I mean they could have used "/etc" for the name of the "/var" directory just as easily. Why didn't they name it "/cfg" for config or "/prf" for preferences? The question really is, if "/etc" really means "et cetera", why did they choose such a generic name for a directory in which very specific things go?
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>Thanks,
>Brett
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As in many situations other than Linux or computers, someone starts 
using some expression where a different one would be more appropriate or 
descriptive and next thing you know, it becomes the
standard. and we're stuck with it.

alex