<P> The designation `` Linux '' was initially used by Torvalds only for the Linux kernel . The kernel was , however , frequently used together with other software , especially that of the GNU project . This quickly became the most popular adoption of GNU software . In June 1994 in GNU 's bulletin , Linux was referred to as a `` free UNIX clone '' , and the Debian project began calling its product Debian GNU / Linux . In May 1996 , Richard Stallman published the editor Emacs 19.31 , in which the type of system was renamed from Linux to Lignux . This spelling was intended to refer specifically to the combination of GNU and Linux , but this was soon abandoned in favor of `` GNU / Linux '' . </P>
an open-source clone of unix created in the early 1990s
GNU / Linux