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[Colin Percival]

At 15:36 15/04/2003 -0400, Jeff Walters wrote:
>I know people in the BSD world are picky about the spelling of "daemon", 
>but I
>can't figure out why.  According to Merriam-Webster daemon is "variant of
>demon."  The spelling doesn't matter to the meaning in common language, and
>it's not a trademark, so it must be a type of cult to be picky about it when
>people write "demon", or to intentionally avoid the more common spelling for
>the sake of distinctiveness and tradition.

   I think it's a case of American illiteracy.  My copy of the Oxford 
English Dictionary clearly lists:

daemon n. (in ancient Greek belief) a divinity or supernatural being of a 
nature between gods and humans.
an inner or attendant spirit or inspiring force.

demon n. an evil spirit or devil.

Colin Percival