[Tex/LaTex] Where does the name “TeX” come from

Question

I was reading about the etymology of the word technology and when I saw how tech is written in Greek, τεχ, the first thing came to my mind was TeX!

It seems so obvious but I couldn't find any information about the origin of TeX's name so here I ask.

Answer 1

I'd rather quote Knuth himself (The TeXbook, page 1):

English words like "technology" stem from a Greek root beginning with the letters τεχ...; and this same Greek word means art as well as technology. Hence the name TeX, which is an uppercase form of τεχ.

Insiders pronounce the χ of TeX as a Greek chi, not as an "x", so that TeX rhymes with the word blecchhh. It’s the "ch" sound in Scottish words like loch or German words like ach; it’s a Spanish "j" and a Russian "kh". When you say it correctly to your computer, the terminal may become slightly moist.

After reading some comments to this answer, I think the following quote is also appropriate (it appear just one paragraph below the previous quote):

On the other hand, it’s important to notice another thing about TeX's name: The "E" is out of kilter. This displaced "E" is a reminder that TeX is about typesetting, and it distinguishes TeX from other system names. In fact, TEX (pronounced tecks) is the admirable Text EXecutive processor developed by Honeywell Information Systems. Since these two system names are pronounced quite differently, they should also be spelled differently. The correct way to refer to TeX in a computer file, or when using some other medium that doesn’t allow lowering of the "E", is to type "TeX". Then there will be no confusion with similar names, and people will be primed to pronounce everything properly.