[Ads-l] "Open Source" Not in OED

Sun Dec 3 13:52:44 UTC 2023

A quick search turned up citations from 1989 in reference to open source software, and 1946 for the term in relation to intelligence. There are likely earlier cites for the software usage, but 1946 is really early for the intelligence sense (except maybe in government documents).

Andrews, Paul. “Industry’s Soviet Connection Helps Raise the Iron Curtain.” Seattle Times, 26 December 1989, E4/1. Readex: America’s Historical Newspapers.

“Soviet programmers had gotten their hands on Raima’s program—db-Vista, and fast and versatile C language data-base compiler with an open source code—the same way lots of software gets passed around: from friends or associates in the international PC community.”

(This article also uses the, possibly one-off, term “glasnostware.”)

“Surprised at Russia?” Oregon Statesman (Salem), 21 February 1946, 4/1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

“Russia obviously felt this to be true, and adopted underground means to complement the information on atomic energy which she must certainly be assembling from every open source on which she can possibly lay her hands. The fact that she used the technique of espionage, and apparently got caught at it, is a serious blow to Russian assurances of friendliness, but is only another illustration of the immense importance which all governments in 1946 ascribe to being minutely informed.”

Yerxa, Fendall and Ogden R. Reid. “U.S. Leaves Self Open to Spies Seeking Vital Intelligence Data.” Evansville Courier (Indiana), 11 December 1950, 5/1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.

“Internal security experts under the President’s National Security Council have met during the past few days in a search for practical measures to shut down the “open sources” of vital information that are at present available to anyone.

"These so-called "open sources” include government offices, libraries and private organizations. Many of them make available to the general public such things a geographical layouts of industrits [sic], municipal plans, technical and scientific data, patents, operational details of transportation systems, engineering plans and similar material which might be of great assistance to operatives bent on wide-scale sabotage.”

Zorza, Victor. “Chines Border Talks Come at Right Time.” Sunday Star (Washington, DC), 12 October 1969, G-4/4. Readex: America’s Historical Newspapers.

“Of the open source, the most important such information came in the journalistic dispatch sent out of Moscow by Victor Louis, whose non-journalistic connections were crucial to an understanding of its gravity. Of the private sources, the most important indications came from diplomatic probing by the Russians, who tried in seemingly casual conversations to find out what the western reaction would be in the event of hostilities.”

-----Original Message-----
From: "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, December 2, 2023 9:41pm
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: [ADS-L] "Open Source" Not in OED

The term "open source," referring to software, is not yet in OED. The earliest use I see in LexisNexis is PR Newswire, Feb. 23, 1998.

Fred Shapiro

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