Mac

English

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• Mack
• Mc

Noun

Mac (plural Macs)

1. Used to address a man whose name is unknown.

   Have you got a light, Mac?

Synonyms

• (person): John

Prefix

Mac

1. (Irish and Scottish patronymic surnames) son of.

Proper noun

Mac

1. A diminutive of the male given name Max.

Etymology 2

Informal diminutive of Macintosh, later adopted by Apple as a trademark.

Noun

Mac (plural Macs)

1. A Macintosh computer (made by Apple Computer), or its operating system.
   • 1991, “Breaking Communications Barriers”, in Compute!, v 13, n 9, pp 28–31:

     Built by Matthew Weed, a blind political science and history major, and Victor Grigorieff, a computer science and psychology major, the system is based on a Macintosh IIfx, although it can run on earlier models, since each Mac program has a similar interface.

   • 1993, “The New Microprocessors Powerchips” in Popular Science, v 243, n 1, p 58:

     Apple, IBM, and Motorola have teamed up to produce this 32-bit chip that will be used in future Apple Macintoshes and IBM PCs. PowerPC systems will run Mac or Unix programs, and possibly Windows software in the future.

   • 1993, “The Newest Appliance” in U.S. News & World Report, v 115, n 21, p 90:

     If you invest the time to learn one Windows or Mac program, you'll automatically have mastered the basic skills to use hundreds of others.

   • 2007, “Uninspiring Vista”, in Technology Review, v 110, n 1, pp 72–4:

     As this shift accelerates, finding software that works with a particular operating system will be less of a concern. People will be able to base decisions about which OS to use strictly on merit, and on personal preference. For me, if the choice is between struggling to configure every feature and being able to boot up and get to work, at long last I choose the Mac.

   • 2008, Glenn Derene, “Mac VS. PC”, in Popular Mechanics, volume 185, number 5, page 86:

     Oddly, the big difference didn't come in our user ratings, where we expected the famously friendly Mac interface to shine.

     Apple's popular commercials have painted the picture in stark terms: There are two types of people, Mac people and PC people.

2. one who uses Apple Mac products.

   I don't need your crappy software, I'm a Mac.

Notes

• Mac is a trademark.

Derived terms

• Macified, Mac-ified
• Mac-like, Maclike

Coordinate terms

• PC, personal computer, home computer, desktop computer, personal workstation, graphic workstation, graphics workstation

Anagrams

• AMC
• cam, CAM
• CMA
• mcade:Mac