this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2025

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687

TIL that "nginx" is pronounced "engine-x", and not "n-jinx" (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 days ago by Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works to c/programmer_humor@programming.dev

289 comments fedilink hide all child comments

nginx ("engine x") is an HTTP web server, reverse proxy, content cache, load balancer, TCP/UDP proxy server, and mail proxy server. […] [1]

I still pronounce it as "n-jinx" in my head.

References

Title (website): "nginx". Publisher: NGINX. Accessed: 2025-02-26T23:25Z. URI: https://nginx.org/en/.
- §"nginx". ¶1.

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[–] BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 days ago

It took a while for me to get it, but it still read ngnix as "n.g. -nix" in my head.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I always heard it as /ŋiŋks/ in my mind

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Ok so I know what ŋ sounds like but I bet there are some idiots here who don’t, so maybe explain it.

For them

[–] ignirtoq@fedia.io 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

In relation to English, it's the "ng" sound in the common "-ing" ending or suffix.

Wikipedia has an entire article on it (of course): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_velar_nasal

[–] bricklove@midwest.social 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

For some reason if you put that sound at the beginning of a word most English speakers can't say it.

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

suddenly it all makes sense.

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[–] rjthyen@lemm.ee 10 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I can't stop pronouncing USAID as u said even after i finally heard it instead of just reading it

[–] FrostyCaveman@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

Oh damn, I’m gonna be thinking of it as that now too

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[–] EmilyIsTrans@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I will be dead and buried in the ground before I call nginx "engine x"

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[–] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

“Nugginx” is how I have always read it

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[–] MTK@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I really dislike the trend of made up pronunciations. I can accept that gnome is with an audible g since that makes more sense than a silent g, but nginx can be at best similar to engine-x, but even then it's more like the n in dnd rather than en.

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[–] Samsy@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 days ago

Wow, I pronounced it N-G-X. Don't know why.

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