On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 1:50 PM, Sam Korn
<smoddy(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 1:47 PM, Thomas Dalton
<thomas.dalton(a)gmail.com> wrote:
2009/2/16 Alvaro GarcĂa
<alvareo(a)gmail.com>om>:
> Doesn't the -ware suffix only show that the software isn't paid?
>
No... the "free" part shows that. The "ware" part shows that it's
software...
But, generally, yes: "freeware" means free-gratis, not free-libre.
And the -ware suffix does show that it is a product.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-ware
That article's a bit rubbish, but gives you some idea.
Treating "ware" as a suffix is what makes it rubbish as much as anything
else. "Ware" is the root noun in the word, and it would be more correct
to treat "free-" or "share-" or "soft-" as attributive
prefixes.